JP5127942B2 - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dehumidifier, and more particularly to a dehumidifier having a function of drying an object to be dried such as clothing.

  In recent years, with a change in lifestyle, there is an increasing demand for washing laundry regardless of time and drying the laundry indoors. In addition, there is a growing demand for indoor drying in humid areas. Thus, as the demand for indoor drying increases, dehumidifiers having a function of drying an object to be dried are becoming widespread.

  As a drying function in a conventional dehumidifier, for example, an indoor temperature distribution is created using an infrared sensor, the position of an object to be dried is specified from the temperature distribution, and dehumidified air is blown toward the position. There are some (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  In Patent Document 1, an infrared sensor is rotatably installed in a dehumidifier so that it can be turned up and down, and the infrared sensor is rotated to create a temperature distribution in the room (detection region), and the temperature distribution is based on the temperature distribution. The position of the object is specified. A louver that adjusts the wind direction in the vertical direction is attached to the dehumidifier so that it has the same movable range as the infrared sensor, and the louver is moved so that the dehumidified air is blown to the position of the object to be dried specified from the temperature distribution. I try to control the range.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, it has a flap which adjusts the wind direction of the left-right direction, and the infrared sensor is fixedly installed in the dehumidifier. Then, it is determined from the temperature distribution by the infrared sensor which of the three detection ranges of the front right side, front center, and front left side of the dehumidifier is from the temperature distribution by the infrared sensor, and the dehumidified air is concentrated on the determined detection range. The movable range of the flap is controlled so as to blow air.

JP 2007-240100 A (Page 10, FIGS. 1 and 4) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-97919 (page 9, FIG. 8)

  By the way, it is desirable that the dehumidified air be blown over the entire object to be dried at the beginning of drying, but it is desirable to concentrate the air on the undried portion rather than the entire object to be dried as drying progresses. However, in Patent Document 1, the movable range of the louver is determined based on the position of the object to be dried specified at the start of drying, and then fixed without changing the movable range until the end of drying. For this reason, if drying progresses, dehumidified air will be blown to the dried part, and there existed a problem that drying efficiency was bad.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, it is not restricted at the time of a drying start, Even after the drying start, the undried part is determined from the detection result of an infrared sensor. For this reason, it is possible to concentrate air on an undried part. However, in the infrared sensor of Patent Document 2, it is possible to specify in which area of the dehumidifier the front right side, the front center, and the front left side of the dehumidifier. It is not possible to judge whether there are any undried parts remaining. For this reason, even if the flaps are controlled and the dehumidified air can be blown in the specified area, the position in the vertical direction is unknown, so the dehumidified air can be blown reliably to the undried portion. I can't say that. Moreover, in patent document 2, since the position of the infrared sensor is fixed, there is a problem that the detection range is inevitably narrowed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a dehumidifier capable of accurately identifying the position of an undried portion that changes with the progress of drying and capable of widening the detection range. With the goal.

  A dehumidifier according to the present invention includes a housing having an outside air suction port and an air outlet, a dehumidifying means provided in the housing for dehumidifying moisture contained in the air, and a dehumidified dehumidified air outlet. Air blowing means for sending out the outside of the housing, wind direction adjusting means for adjusting the wind direction of the dehumidified air, and infrared detecting means for detecting the temperature of the object to be dried, having a plurality of detection elements arranged linearly And a driving means that has a three-axis rotation mechanism orthogonal to each other, and that can change the detection range by making the infrared detection means rotatable up and down and left and right, and controls the drive means, and the detection result of the infrared detection means And a control means for controlling the operation of the wind direction adjusting means in accordance with the result of specifying the position of the object to be dried and the undried portion in the object to be dried. Multiple detection means Position detection means for specifying the installation range of the object to be dried from the temperature detection result of the infrared detection means by rotating the infrared detection means up and down within a predetermined rotation range with the output elements arranged in the left-right direction, and position detection The installation range of the object to be dried specified by the means is divided into a plurality of ranges in the vertical direction, and the infrared detection means is rotated left and right in a state where the plurality of detection elements of the infrared detection means are arranged in the vertical direction to be divided into one. After detecting the temperature of the range, repeat the temperature detection of the next range by rotating it up and down to obtain the temperature distribution of the entire installation range of the object to be dried, and the undried part of the object to be dried from the temperature distribution The control means is configured to determine the dry state by repeatedly operating the dryness detection means.

  According to the present invention, the infrared detection means can be rotated up and down and left and right so that the detection range can be changed, and the drying detection means is repeatedly operated to determine the dry state. Accordingly, the position of the undried portion that changes along with the position can be accurately specified, and the position detection range of the object to be dried can be widened.

It is a typical longitudinal cross-sectional view of the dehumidifier which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the infrared sensor of FIG. It is a block diagram explaining the electrical structure of the dehumidifier shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of a dehumidifier and a to-be-dried object. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement outline | summary in the control means of a dehumidifier. It is a time chart which shows the drive of each component. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the position detection process of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the arrangement direction of the infrared sensor of FIG. It is the figure which arranged each temperature data detected by each detection element of an infrared sensor, and arranged it in the table. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the dry detection process of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the movement order of the detection area | region of the infrared sensor in the dryness detection process of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the installation pattern of a to-be-dried object (the 1). It is a figure which shows a part of position detection result and dry detection result in the installation pattern of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the installation pattern of a to-be-dried object (the 2). It is a figure which shows a part of position detection result and dry detection result in the installation pattern of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the installation pattern of a to-be-dried object (the 3). It is a figure which shows a part of position detection result and dry detection result in the installation pattern of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the right side of FIG. 1 may be referred to as the front, and the left side of FIG.

(Overall configuration of dehumidifier)
As shown in FIG. 1, the dehumidifier includes a dehumidifying means 2 and a blower means 3 inside the housing 1, and dehumidifies indoor air (outside air) taken from the suction port 4 with the dehumidifying means 2. The air is discharged as dehumidified air from an outlet 5 provided in front of the housing 1. The dehumidifying means 2 may be a desiccant system that absorbs moisture by a hygroscopic material such as zeolite or silica gel, or may be a dehumidifying mechanism of a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, an evaporator, a condenser, and the like. The blowout port 5 is provided with a louver 6 and a flap 7 as wind direction adjusting means for adjusting the blowout direction of the dehumidified air.

  The louver 6 is provided so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis in the x-axis direction in the figure, and adjusts the blowing direction of the dehumidified air in the vertical direction. The flap 7 is provided so as to be rotatable as a rotation axis in the y-axis direction in the figure, and adjusts the blowing direction of the dehumidified air in the left-right direction. The three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system (xyz axis) in the figure is set as an x axis in the width direction of the dehumidifier, a z axis in the depth direction, and a y axis in the height direction.

  In addition, a temperature sensor 8 that detects indoor air temperature and a humidity sensor 9 that detects indoor humidity are provided inside the housing 1. Further, an infrared sensor 10 is provided behind the upper surface of the housing 1 as infrared detecting means for detecting the radiation temperature of the object surface existing within the infrared directivity range. Specifically, the infrared sensor 10 is constituted by, for example, a thermopile type temperature sensor, and includes a plurality of detection elements. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, a compound eye configuration in which four detection elements 10 a, 10 b, 10 c, and 10 d are arranged in a row, and a configuration capable of detecting a plurality of temperatures at a time is adopted. The infrared sensor 10 is not limited to a compound eye configuration, and may be a type (single eye) provided with one detection element or a plurality of monoculars.

  The infrared sensor 10 configured as described above is arranged on the rear side of the upper surface of the housing 1 so as not to be affected by the temperature of the dehumidified air from the outlet 5. Further, a rib 11 is provided around the infrared sensor 10 so that the wind from the outlet 5 does not hit the infrared sensor 10. Further, the infrared sensor 10 is configured to be pivotable in three axial directions by an infrared sensor x-axis motor 12, an infrared sensor y-axis motor 13, and an infrared sensor z-axis motor 14 as a three-axis rotating mechanism. It is disposed on the body 1.

  An operation display unit 15 is provided on the top surface of the housing 1. The operation display unit 15 is provided with a power switch, an operation mode switch, a timer switch, a louver setting switch, a display unit, and the like (all not shown), and the user selects operation control by pressing the switch. Is possible.

  In addition, a tank 16 for storing drain water generated during dehumidification and a control means 17 for controlling the entire dehumidifier are provided in the housing 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of the dehumidifier shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the same parts as those in FIG.
The control means 17 is a processing unit such as a CPU constituting a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer), for example. The control means 17 is connected to a storage means 18 composed of a memory such as a RAM or ROM of a microcomputer. The storage unit 18 stores a program for performing operation control in the operation mode of the dehumidifier, a program for performing processing in a flowchart described later, and the like. The storage means 18 further stores the rotational direction and the rotational speed for controlling the direction of the louver 6 and the flap 7 corresponding to the operation mode and the like, the rotational speed of the blower means 3 and the like. Further, the storage means 18 also stores the output history of the infrared sensor 10 and the like. The control means 17 and the program stored in the storage means 18 constitute the position detection means and the dryness detection means of the present invention.

  An operation display unit 15 is connected to the control means 17, and an operation signal based on an operation input from the operation display unit 15 is input. A temperature sensor 8, a humidity sensor 9, and an infrared sensor 10 are further connected to the control means 17, and each detection signal is input. The control means 17 includes a louver motor 22, a flap motor 23, and a dehumidifying means 2 in accordance with signals input from the operation display unit 15, temperature sensor 8, humidity sensor 9 and infrared sensor 10 and a program stored in the storage means 18. , Blower means 3, infrared sensor x-axis motor (hereinafter referred to as x-axis motor) 12, infrared sensor y-axis motor (hereinafter referred to as y-axis motor) 13, infrared sensor z-axis motor (hereinafter referred to as z-axis motor) 14 Control each one. Each of the louver motor 22, the flap motor 23, the x-axis motor 12, the y-axis motor 13, and the z-axis motor 14 is a stepping motor here.

(Control method)
Hereinafter, the operation of the dehumidifier of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the dehumidifier and the object to be dried, and shows how the object to be dried such as a bath towel is suspended and dried in front of the dehumidifier (a) the back surface, (b) the side surface (C) It is the figure seen from each of the upper surface. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation in the control means of the dehumidifier. In addition, S in FIG. 5 shows a step (process order). FIG. 6 is a time chart showing driving of each component. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the position detection process of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the position detection process of FIG. Hereinafter, the y-axis direction may be referred to as the up-down direction, the x-axis direction as the left-right direction, and the z-axis direction as the depth direction. In FIG. 4, the dotted line indicates the rotation range of the louver 6 or the flap 7, and the alternate long and short dash line indicates the rotation range of the infrared sensor 10.

Hereinafter, an operation of drying an object to be dried such as clothes by the dehumidifier according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
(Positional relationship between material to be dried and dehumidifier)
When a user hangs indoors after washing and dehydrating clothes and other items with a washing machine or the like, the user hangs them in a room clothes or duck placed in the room. In general, indoor clothes drying is about 1.4m in height, and the duck is about 2m, and the dehumidifier can send air to these items to be dried or dried in the duck (for example, to be dried). (Position within about 1.5 m from the object). In addition, the objects to be dried are often dried in the range of, for example, 1 m in width as an aggregate.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an object to be dried having a width A: 1 m and a length B: 1 m is suspended from an indoor clothes dryer having a height C: 1.4 m, and the casing 1 is attached to the object to be dried. A case where the distance D is set at a position of 60 cm will be described as an example. Further, the louver 6 rotates about the x-axis, and it is assumed that the angle increases toward the front surface (z-axis positive direction) with the point 45 ° on the back side from the center of the body as the reference 0 °. The occupation range (the necessary swing range of the louver 6) of FIG. 4 is 60 ° to 160 ° (E: 100 °) of the x-axis rotation. The description will be made assuming that the flap 7 rotates about the y-axis and the angle increases toward the negative x-axis direction. Unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that the louver 6 is set to reciprocate within the drive limit range.

(Overview of overall flow)
Hereinafter, the operation outline of the dehumidifier of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
When the power of the dehumidifier is turned on (ON) by the user and the “drying mode” is selected from the operation modes by the operation of the operation display unit 15 (S1), the control unit 17 includes the dehumidifying unit 2 and the air blower. The means 3 is driven (S2, S3). If a mode other than the “drying mode” is selected, the operation proceeds to the selected mode. Since the operation in modes other than the “dry mode” is not related to the gist of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted here.

  After the dehumidifying means 2 and the air blowing means 3 are driven, the control means 17 performs a position detection process for specifying the installation range of the object to be dried (S4). Details of the position detection process will be described later. Then, the rotation range of the louver 6 is set (changed) so as to send dehumidified air to the installation range of the object to be dried detected in the position detection process (S5). Here, only the rotation range of the louver 6 is set, and the louver 6 is not yet driven as shown in FIG.

  And the dryness detection process which determines the position of the undried part of a to-be-dried material is performed (S6). Details of the drying detection process will be described later. Since the dry state changes in time series, the dry detection process is repeated a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times) (S7), and then the position detection process is performed again (S8). The position detection process here is not intended to detect the installation position of the object to be dried, but is a process for determining the end of drying of the object to be dried, and will be described in detail later. Then, an end determination is made based on the result of the position detection process again, and if the drying end condition is satisfied (S9), it is determined that the drying has ended, and the driving of the dehumidifying means 2 and the air blowing means 3 is stopped to dehumidify. End machine operation. On the other hand, if the drying end condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S6 and the same processing is repeated until the drying end condition is satisfied.

(Position detection processing)
The position detection process is a process for rotating the infrared sensor 10 up and down within a predetermined rotation range and specifying the installation range of the object to be dried from the temperature detection result of the infrared sensor 10. Details of the position detection process will be described below with reference to FIG.
First, the z-axis motor 14 is driven to rotate the infrared sensor 10 about the z-axis, and the element array of the infrared sensor 10 is perpendicular to the position detection swing trajectory (vertical direction: x-axis rotation) as shown in FIG. It is set so that it is aligned (that is, aligned in the left-right direction (x-axis direction)) (S4a). Next, the x-axis motor 12 is rotated by a predetermined angle to sequentially move the temperature detection range of the infrared sensor 10 in the vertical direction, and temperature detection is performed at each angular position (S4b). Specifically, for example, the rotation range of the x-axis motor 12 is set to 0 ° to 165 °, the detection is started from the initial position 0 °, and the temperature is detected at certain timings until reaching 165 °. Temperature detection is performed 100 times.

  That is, the detection temperatures Ta1, Tb1, Tc1, and Td1 of the detection elements 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d of the first infrared sensor 10 are acquired from the detection temperatures Ta100, Tb100, Tc100, and Td100 for the 100th time. As a result, 4 × 100 pieces of temperature data are acquired for one rotation in the x-axis rotation range of 0 ° to 165 °. Note that the rotation range of the x-axis motor 12 is generally set so that a space region in which an object to be dried may be placed can be accommodated in the temperature detection range. Although it is set to ˜165 °, it is not limited to this.

  The material to be dried immediately after dehydration contains water, and since the water evaporates, the material to be dried becomes lower than the ambient temperature due to heat of vaporization. Therefore, in the temperature detection result obtained by the infrared sensor 10, the temperature of the portion where the object to be dried is located is lower than the other portions.

  FIG. 9 shows a table in which detection data for 100 times of each temperature data detected by each of the detection elements 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d is arranged in a table, and each temperature data is set to a predetermined threshold (fixed value or indoor temperature). It is a figure which divided into the low temperature part and the high temperature part, and hatched the low temperature part. FIG. 9 shows the detection result in the positional relationship of FIG. 4, and the low temperature portion shown by hatching in FIG. 9 corresponds to the portion where the object to be dried is located, and the high temperature portion corresponds to the indoor air temperature. To do. In addition, in FIG. 9 and the figure mentioned later, a-d has shown the detection elements 10a-10d, respectively. In the case of the positional relationship shown in FIG. 4, as is apparent from the arrangement relationship of FIG. 4B, the object to be dried is not detected when the x-axis rotation range is around 0 ° to 60 °, and the rotation range is 60 °. It will be detected in the range of ~ 160 °. Therefore, the temperature distribution has a low temperature portion in the region where the number of detections is the latter half.

  As shown in FIG. 9, since the temperature of the portion where the object to be dried is located appears as a temperature lower than other portions, the control means 17 determines the object to be dried from the detection result of the infrared sensor 10 as described above. The vertical installation range is determined (S4c). In this position detection process, it is sufficient that at least the installation range in the vertical direction (length direction) of the object to be dried can be determined, and the range in the width direction of the object to be dried may be determined in the next drying detection process.

  After the above position detection processing is completed, the control means 17 sets the rotation range of the louver 6 so that the dehumidified air is sent in a concentrated manner within the installation range of the object to be dried detected by the position detection processing. Driving is started (S5). Note that the louver 6 reciprocates within the rotation range as described above. In the case of the positional relationship shown in FIG. 4, the object to be dried (low temperature part) exists in the rotation range of 60 ° to 160 °. Therefore, the control means 17 moves the louver 6 from the drive limit range to the rotation angle x. = 60 ° to 160 ° (xmax = 160 °, xmin = 60 °). After the position detection is completed, the flap motor 23 is also driven as shown in FIG. 6, and the operation of the flap 7 is also started. Like the louver 6, the flap 7 swings back and forth.

(Dry detection process)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the drying detection process of FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the movement order of the detection region of the infrared sensor in the dryness detection process. Hereinafter, details of the drying detection process will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.
In the drying detection process, after the installation range of the object to be dried detected in the position detection process is divided into a plurality of ranges in the vertical direction, the infrared sensor 10 is rotated left and right to detect the temperature of one division range, Repeatedly detecting the temperature in the next range by rotating up and down, obtaining the temperature distribution of the entire installation range of the object to be dried, and determining the undried part of the object to be dried and the dry state from the temperature distribution. .

  First, the z-axis motor 14 is driven to rotate the infrared sensor 10 about the z-axis, so that the element rows of the infrared sensor 10 are arranged in the vertical direction as shown by the dotted line in FIG. That is, the element array of the infrared sensor 10 is set so as to be arranged perpendicular to the drying detection swing direction (left-right direction: y-axis rotation) (S6a).

  Next, the position of the infrared sensor 10 is set by driving the x-axis motor 12 so as to detect the temperature from the lower end side (installation range xmax = 160 ° side) of the object to be dried (S6b). Since the temperature detection target range (corresponding to the installation range of the object to be dried) is 60 ° to 160 ° here, first, as shown in FIG. 11, on the lower end side of the object to be dried (installation range xmax = 160 ° side). The temperature of the combined divided range 1 is detected. Specifically, since the directivity angle of the infrared sensor 10 is about 60 ° here, the x-axis motor 12 stops at the angular position xn = 160 ° −60 ° / 2 = 130 °. In FIG. 11, the divided range 1 corresponds to a range that can be detected at a directivity angle of about 60 ° of the infrared sensor 10.

  Next, with the x-axis motor 12 stopped at the angular position xn, the y-axis motor 13 is rotated by a predetermined angle to sequentially move the temperature detection range of the infrared sensor 10 from left to right, and at each angular position. Temperature detection is performed (S6c). Specifically, for example, the rotation range of the y-axis motor 13 is set to 0 ° to 120 °, the detection is started from the initial position 0 °, and the temperature is detected at certain timings until reaching 120 °. Temperature detection is performed 100 times.

  From the detection temperatures Ta1, Tb1, Tc1, and Td1 of the first four elements, the detection temperatures Ta100, Tb100, Tc100, and Td100 of the 100th time are acquired. As a result, temperature data of 100 × 4 elements is acquired for one rotation in the y-axis rotation range of 0 ° to 120 °. In addition, in the positional relationship between the dehumidifier and the object to be dried shown in FIG. 4, the object to be dried having a width A is detected at about 90 ° even if the horizontal rotation range of the infrared sensor 10 is not 120 °. However, in consideration of variation in installation, for example, a left-right rotation range of 120 ° is used here.

  Since the temperature detection of the divided range 1 in FIG. 11 is completed in the process of step S6c, the x-axis motor 12 is rotated to move the detection range of the infrared sensor 10 upward in order to detect the temperature of the next divided range 2. (S6d). Specifically, here, since the directivity angle is 60 ° and the angular position xn of the x-axis motor 12 is 130 °, the x-axis motor 12 is rotated so that the angular position xn = 130 ° −60 ° = 70 °. Let

  The above process is repeated until the detection range of the infrared sensor 10 deviates from the installation range of the object to be dried detected by the position detection process (S6e). That is, the measurement is performed until the temperature detection of the divided range n in FIG. Specifically, the angular position is changed until the angular position xn <xmin + 60 °, and the temperature detection of the y-axis rotation is repeated. And if temperature detection is completed to the division | segmentation range n of the installation range of to-be-dried material, the position of an undried part will be determined based on the temperature distribution of all the temperature data acquired in the division | segmentation range 1-the division | segmentation range n (S6f). . And the wind direction of the flap 7 is changed so that the ventilation of dehumidified air concentrates on an undried part (S6g).

  Note that the algorithm for determining the position of the undried portion in step S6f is not particularly limited here, and any conventionally known algorithm can be employed. For example, the temperature distribution obtained by the infrared sensor 10 is divided into a low temperature part and a high temperature part, and the low temperature part is determined as an undried part, similarly to the determination of the installation range of the object to be dried in the position detection process. There is a way. Other methods include, for example, determining a portion where the difference between the current detected temperature of the object to be dried and the detected temperature of the object to be dried at the start of drying is less than a predetermined temperature as an undried part.

Now, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG.
Since the dry state changes in time series, the dry detection process described above is repeated. Then, after repeatedly performing a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times) (S7), the position detection process is performed again (S8). FIG. 6 shows an example of repeating three times for convenience of illustration. The position detection process here is not intended to detect the installation position of the object to be dried, but to detect an undried part of the object to be dried in order to determine the necessary movable range of the louver 6. It is what. That is, position detection processing is performed in step S8, and the vertical installation range of the material to be dried is determined in step S4c (see FIG. 7). Since the installation position of the object to be dried is not changed, the position of the low temperature part is detected here. Then, the control means 17 determines whether or not the drying end condition is satisfied (S9). If the drying end condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S5, and the driving of the louver motor 22 is controlled so as to send dehumidified air to the position of the low temperature portion in the object to be dried (S5). Thus, since the rotation range of the louver 6 and the flap 7 is limited in accordance with the position of the undried portion (low temperature portion), efficient drying is possible.

  If the drying end condition is satisfied, the operation of the dehumidifying means 2 and the air blowing means 3 is stopped and the processing in the drying mode is ended. In addition, drying completion conditions are not specifically limited here, Conventionally well-known conditions are employable. For example, when the part belonging to the low temperature part becomes the same temperature as the high temperature part, or when the detected temperature of the entire surface of the object to be dried and the indoor air temperature at the start of drying become the same, When the amount of change over time in the detected temperature of the entire dried product surface is sufficiently small, it can be determined that the drying has ended.

(Drying object installation pattern)
Here, the other installation pattern of a to-be-dried object is demonstrated easily. FIG.12 and FIG.13 is a figure which shows the installation pattern and detection result (position detection result and dryness detection result) when one long thing like a bath towel is put on the high place like Kamoi. . FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams showing installation patterns and detection results (position detection results and dry detection results) when a plurality of objects to be dried are placed on the indoor clothesline and a dehumidifier is installed in front of them. is there. FIG.16 and FIG.17 is a figure which shows the installation pattern and detection result (a position detection result and a drying detection result) when a several to-be-dried object is put on indoor clothes drying and a dehumidifier is installed therebelow. 13, 15, and 17 show a part of the position detection result and the dry detection result. Here, the case where the infrared sensor 10 performs temperature detection using a plurality of four or more is shown. Yes. Further, (b) “part of dry detection result” in each of FIGS. 13, 15, and 17 represents an angle position indicated by a two-dot chain line in the side view of the corresponding installation pattern. The result obtained by rotating the infrared sensor 10 left and right at the angular position xn is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 (a), 15 (a), and 16 (a), the installation position of the group to be dried can be specified from the position detection result in any installation pattern. Therefore, the rotation range of the louver 6 can be set according to the position of the objects to be dried. Further, the width of the object to be dried can be grasped from the dry detection result, and the rotation range of the flap 7 can be set in accordance with the position of the object to be dried in addition to the rotation range of the louver 6. it can.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the infrared sensor 10 is disposed in the housing 1 so as to be rotatable around three axes orthogonal to each other, and can be rotated up and down and left and right. can do.

  Further, after specifying the vertical installation range of the object to be dried by rotating up and down, the installation range is divided into multiple ranges in the vertical direction, and the infrared sensor 10 is rotated left and right to detect the temperature of one divided range. After performing the above, it is repeatedly turned up and down to detect the temperature of the next range, and the temperature distribution of the entire installation range of the object to be dried is obtained, and the undried part of the object to be dried is identified from the temperature distribution As a result, the position of the undried portion can be specified in detail.

  In addition, since the drying detection process is repeatedly performed to determine the dry state, and the wind direction control is performed according to the determination result, the effective wind direction control corresponding to the current dry state can be performed. That is, it is possible to concentrate air on the undried portion and to perform an efficient drying operation. Moreover, since the position of an undried part can be specified finely, an unnecessary operation such as blowing air to a part other than the undried part can be avoided, which is useful for energy saving.

  In each of the position detection process and the dryness detection process, the z-axis motor 14 is driven and the arrangement direction of the detection elements 10a to 10d of the infrared sensor 10 is aligned perpendicular to the position detection swing direction or the dryness detection swing direction. As a result, it is possible to efficiently detect a wide range of temperatures with a single swing.

  Further, the infrared sensor 10 is disposed so as to avoid the vicinity of the blowout port 5, that is, disposed at a position not affected by the temperature of the dehumidified air from the blowout port 5, and a rib 11 is provided around the infrared sensor 10, Since the dehumidified air from 5 is prevented from coming into direct contact with the infrared sensor, it is possible to prevent a decrease in temperature detection accuracy and to perform accurate temperature detection.

  As described above, accurate air flow control can be performed by determining the position of the object to be dried and determining the drying state by infrared detection, so that it can be dried without waste even if the object is placed in any state. As a result, the finish is good, bacteria and odor can be suppressed, and it is hygienic.

  In the present embodiment, the infrared sensor 10 is configured to rotate three axes, but may be configured to rotate at least two axes, the x axis and the y axis. When the detection elements 10a to 10d of the infrared sensor 10 are arranged in the y-axis direction and the rotation of the z axis is omitted, the detection elements 10a to 10d are detected when the infrared sensor 10 is rotated on the x axis during position detection. However, the temperature of the same part is detected sequentially, and the temperature data overlaps, but an average value may be taken.

  In the present embodiment, the dehumidifying means 2 and the air blowing means 3 are immediately stopped after determining that the drying is finished. However, even if it is determined that the drying is finished, there is a possibility of error determination. The operation of the dehumidifying means 2 and the air blowing means 3 may be stopped after a certain time has elapsed. Thereby, it becomes possible to reduce the dry residue when an error is determined.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the air blowing range by the louver 6 and the flap 7 and the detection range by the infrared sensor 10 are substantially the same range is shown, but the detection range may be set larger than the air blowing range. . In this case, after the drying in the air blowing range is completed, the position detection process is performed again, and if there is an undried portion, that is, if there is an undried portion outside the air blowing range, it is determined that the wind does not hit. To notify (buzzer, alarm, display). This notification can prompt the user to change the position of the object to be dried.

  In addition, when a tire 30 (see FIG. 1) that enables the dehumidifier to move in the x-axis direction and the z-axis direction is provided on the lower surface of the housing 1 of the dehumidifier, The position of the dehumidifier may be automatically finely adjusted by controlling the movement of the tire 30 so that the undried portion is located within the blowing range. That is, since it can be grasped from the result of the position detection process whether the undried portion is on the front right side or the front left side of the dehumidifier, the position of the dehumidifier may be moved based on the result.

  In the above description, the louver 6 and the flap 7 are reciprocally swung, but when the first half of the drying mode is reciprocated and the range of the undried portion is reduced in the second half of the drying mode, the position of the louver 6 and the flap 7 is changed. May be fixed toward the undried portion and spot-dried.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case, 2 Dehumidification means, 3 Air blowing means, 4 Suction inlet, 5 Outlet, 6 Louver, 7 Flap, 8 Temperature sensor, 9 Humidity sensor, 10 Infrared sensor, 10a-10d Detection element, 11 Rib, 12 Infrared sensor X-axis motor, 13 y-axis motor for infrared sensor, 14 z-axis motor for infrared sensor, 15 operation display section, 16 tank, 17 control means, 18 storage means, 22 louver motor, 23 flap motor, 30 tires.

Claims (8)

A housing having an outside air inlet and outlet;
A dehumidifying means provided in the housing for dehumidifying moisture contained in the air;
A blowing means for sending dehumidified dehumidified air out of the housing from the outlet;
Wind direction adjusting means for adjusting the wind direction of the dehumidified air;
Infrared detection means for detecting the temperature of the object to be dried, having a plurality of detection elements arranged in a straight line,
A drive unit having a three-axis rotation mechanism orthogonal to each other, and capable of changing the detection range by allowing the infrared detection unit to rotate vertically and horizontally;
The drive unit is controlled, and the position of the object to be dried and the undried part in the object to be dried are specified based on the detection result of the infrared detection unit, and the operation of the airflow direction adjusting unit is controlled according to the result. Control means for
The control means includes
The infrared detection means is rotated up and down within a predetermined rotation range with the plurality of detection elements of the infrared detection means aligned in the left-right direction by controlling the drive means, and the temperature detection result of the infrared detection means Position detection means for specifying the installation range of the object to be dried,
The installation range of the object to be dried specified by the position detection means is divided into a plurality of ranges in the vertical direction, and the infrared detection means is left and right in a state where the plurality of detection elements of the infrared detection means are arranged in the vertical direction. After rotating and detecting the temperature of one divided range, it is repeatedly rotated up and down to detect the temperature of the next range, and the temperature distribution of the entire installation range of the object to be dried is obtained, and the temperature distribution And a dryness detection means for identifying an undried portion of the object to be dried from
The dehumidifier characterized in that the control means determines the dry state by repeatedly operating the dryness detection means.   The wind direction adjusting means includes a louver that adjusts a vertical wind direction of the dehumidified air blown from the blowout port, and a flap that adjusts a horizontal wind direction of the dehumidified air blown from the blowout port. The louver is controlled so that the dehumidified air is blown into the installation range of the object to be dried specified by the position detecting means, and the dehumidified air is blown to the undried part specified by the dry detecting means. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the louver and the flap are controlled.   3. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the infrared detection unit is installed at a position in the housing that is not affected by temperature due to dehumidified air from the outlet. 4.   4. The dehumidifier according to claim 3, wherein a rib is provided around the infrared detection means so that dehumidified air from the outlet is prevented from contacting the infrared detection means.   The dehumidification according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drying detection unit divides the temperature distribution into a low temperature part and a high temperature part, and determines the low temperature part as an undried part. Machine.   2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the portion belonging to the low temperature part becomes uniform in temperature with the high temperature part, it is determined that the drying is finished, and the dehumidifying unit and the air blowing unit are stopped. Item 6. The dehumidifier according to any one of Items 5.   The control means determines that the drying is finished after a lapse of a certain time from the time when the part belonging to the low temperature part becomes uniform with the high temperature part, and stops the dehumidifying means and the air blowing means. The dehumidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The dehumidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the detection range of the infrared detection means is set to be larger than a blowing range in which air can be blown by the wind direction adjusting means.

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