JP6832262B2 - Cloth drying device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cloth drying device.

Conventionally, a cloth drying device for drying cloth using drying air has been widely used. The cloth drying device dries the cloth by circulating the drying air between the rotating drum and the air passage while rotating the rotating drum while the cloth such as clothes and towels is housed in the rotating drum. Let me. The cloth drying device is equipped with a mesh-like filter called "lint" for catching lint and fiber waste in the air passage. When a large amount of lint adheres to the filter of the cloth drying device, the drying efficiency is lowered and the drying energy and the drying time are increased. Therefore, the cloth drying device has a filter cleaning mechanism for cleaning the filter and removing lint from the filter.

As the filter cleaning mechanism, for example, there is a mechanical structure for cleaning the filter with a cleaning member. This type of filter cleaning mechanism has a structure in which a cleaning member is arranged in the vicinity of the filter, and the filter is cleaned by bringing the cleaning member into contact with the filter during cleaning (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). reference).

For example, the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 1 rotates a filter that captures lint, a lint collection box that collects lint captured by the filter, and a spiral wire rod that rotates the lint captured by the filter. It is equipped with a discharge means for scraping and discharging to a lint collection box. A suction port is provided at the bottom of the lint collection box. The filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which the cleaned lint collected in the lint recovery box is held inside the lint recovery box by the force of air.

Further, for example, in the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 2, the air passage is divided into two portions (first ventilation portion and second ventilation portion), and a filter and a blade are arranged in each portion, and one of them is arranged. The structure is such that the lint adhering to the filter of the part (first ventilation part) is scraped off with a blade, and the scraped lint is sent to the other part (second ventilation part) by the force of the wind and collected. .. Further, the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 2 includes an opening / closing body integrally formed with a blade, and is scraped off at one part by the opening / closing body to the other part (second ventilation portion). The structure is such that the collected lint after cleaning is prevented from being recaptured by the filter at one site.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-6045 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-130789

The prior art described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 has a problem that the lint after cleaning may reattach to the filter as described below.

For example, in the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 1, since the suction port at the bottom of the lint collection box is not provided with a cleaning means, the suction port is clogged with the cleaned lint collected in the lint collection box. I have something to do. Then, when the suction port is clogged, the lint after cleaning may overflow from the lint collection box and reattach to the filter. In this case, the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 1 lowers the drying efficiency and causes an increase in drying energy and drying time.

Further, for example, in the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 2, when the amount of cleaned lint that is scraped off at one site and collected at the other site increases, the filter at one site (particularly the other) Since the suction force decreases on the side closer to the part), it becomes difficult for the lint after cleaning to be collected on the other part. Therefore, the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 2 opens the opening / closing body so that the cleaned lint can be easily collected in the other portion. However, at that time, the lint after cleaning may overflow from the other part and reattach to the filter in the other part. In this case, the filter cleaning mechanism described in Patent Document 2 lowers the drying efficiency and causes an increase in drying energy and drying time.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cloth drying device that suppresses reattachment of lint after cleaning to a filter.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a cloth drying device, in which an air passage through which drying air passes, a filter for capturing lint provided in the air passage, and a filter for cleaning the filter are cleaned. A lint cleaning mechanism that collects lint adhering to the door, a lint collection box that is removable from the main body of the device and collects lint collected by the lint cleaning mechanism, an air passage, and the lint accumulation. The lint accumulation box is provided with a shielding wall that shields between the boxes and a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the shielding wall, and the lint accumulation box is located on the upper side inside and in the vicinity of the shielding wall. A recovery lint compression mechanism for compressing the recovered lint is provided at the position, and a lint disposal door for disposing of the lint compressed by the recovery lint compression mechanism to the outside is provided at the bottom .
Other means will be described later.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the lint after cleaning collected by cleaning the filter from reattaching to the filter.

It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the blade cleaning mechanism as one configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism which concerns on this embodiment of a moving cleaning mechanism. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the rotary brush cleaning mechanism as one configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism which concerns on this embodiment of a filter moving type. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the cloth drying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the mounting arrangement example of the filter cleaning mechanism in the cloth drying apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the rotary brush cleaning mechanism as one configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism which concerns on this embodiment of another filter movement type. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the blade cleaning mechanism as one configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism which concerns on this embodiment of another cleaning mechanism moving type.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, each figure is only shown schematicly to the extent that the present invention can be fully understood. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. Further, in each figure, common components and similar components are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, it is intended to provide a cloth drying device having a filter cleaning mechanism in consideration of the following points.
(1) The filter cleaning mechanism suppresses a large load in maintaining the cloth drying device, and the cloth drying device can always be operated efficiently.
(2) As for the filter cleaning mechanism, the filter cleaning mechanism and the lint after cleaning (the lint removed from the filter) are not easily affected by the wind.

(1) In the cloth drying device, the cloth is dried in a short time by blowing a very strong air to the cloth with drying air in the drying process mode. In the cloth drying device, lint generated from the cloth flows into the air passage in the drying process mode. When the lint passes through the air duct and returns to the rotating drum containing the fabric, it reattaches to the original fabric and stains the fabric. Further, if a large amount of lint passes through the air passage and flows into the air fan, it may cause a malfunction of the air fan. Therefore, a mesh-shaped filter for capturing lint is installed in the air passage.

However, since the amount of air for drying flowing through the air passage is large, a large amount of lint adheres to the filter installed in the air passage in a relatively short time, although it depends on the condition of the cloth to be dried. When a large amount of lint adheres to the filter, the ventilation efficiency decreases, so the drying efficiency decreases, and the amount of drying energy (the amount of energy required to sufficiently dry the cloth) and the drying time (sufficiently dry the cloth) It causes an increase in the time required for drying). Therefore, it is preferable that the cloth drying device cleans the filter installed in the air passage to constantly remove lint from the filter in order to realize efficient drying of the cloth. However, cleaning the filter is a heavy burden in maintaining the cloth drying device.

Therefore, the present embodiment provides a cloth drying device having a filter cleaning mechanism capable of suppressing a large load in maintaining the cloth drying device and always operating the cloth drying device efficiently. Intended.

(2) Further, as described above, in the cloth drying apparatus, the cloth is dried in a short time by blowing a very strong air to the cloth with the drying air in the drying process mode. In such a cloth drying device, the filter cleaning mechanism and the lint after cleaning (the lint after being removed from the filter and collected) are easily affected by the wind.

Therefore, the present embodiment is intended to provide a cloth drying device having a filter cleaning mechanism and a filter cleaning mechanism in which the lint after cleaning is less susceptible to the influence of wind.

The filter cleaning mechanism according to the present embodiment includes a lint cleaning mechanism that cleans the filter and collects lint adhering to the filter, and the lint cleaning mechanism has a structure corresponding to one of the following two types. It has become. In the first type, as shown in FIG. 1, the lint cleaning mechanism moves a cleaning member such as a blade or a brush in contact with or close to the surface of the filter 2 to move the lint into a lint accumulation box. It is a type to collect. In the second type, as shown in FIG. 2, the lint cleaning mechanism fixes cleaning members such as blades and brushes and moves the filter to collect the lint in the lint accumulation box. Hereinafter, the first type is referred to as a "cleaning mechanism movable type", and the second type is referred to as a "filter movable type".

<Cleaning mechanism Configuration of movable filter cleaning mechanism>
Hereinafter, the configuration of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 according to the present embodiment of the cleaning mechanism movable type will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a blade cleaning mechanism as a configuration example of a cleaning mechanism movable filter cleaning mechanism 12. 1 (a), 1 (b), and 1 (c) show the states of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in the drying process mode, the cleaning process mode, and the disposal process mode, respectively.

Here, the "drying process mode" means a mode for executing a drying process (that is, a process of blowing drying air to cloth such as clothes and towels to dry the cloth). Further, the "cleaning process mode" means a mode for executing a cleaning process (that is, a process of cleaning the filter and collecting lint (lint) adhering to the filter). In addition, the "disposal process mode" means a mode for executing a disposal process (that is, a process of disposing of collected lint (lint)). In the drying process mode, drying air is blown. Also, in the cleaning process mode, the blowing of drying air is stopped. Further, in the disposal process mode, the blowing of the drying air is stopped, and the lint accumulation box 6 described later is removed from the cloth drying device.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a structure in the vicinity of the filter 2 of the air passage 1 through which the drying air passes. In FIG. 1, a filter 2 is provided in the middle of the air passage 1. The filter 2 is a filter with an automatic cleaning function for lint capture. The lint-containing drying air generated from the cloth flows in from the upstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the air passage 1 along the white arrow 5a and reaches the filter 2. Then, the drying air passes through the filter 2 and flows out to the downstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the air passage 1 along the white arrow 5b.

The filter 2 captures the lint 4 as the drying air passes through. A heater (not shown), a blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3), and the like are installed on the downstream side of the blower passage 1, and the drying air that has passed through these is used again for drying the cloth. That is, the cloth drying device blows the drying air with the blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) while heating the air with a heater (not shown), and blows the drying air onto the cloth.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning mechanism movable filter cleaning mechanism 12 cleans the filter 2 provided in the air passage 1 for capturing the lint 4 and the filter 2 for collecting the lint 4 adhering to the filter 2. It includes a lint cleaning mechanism 3 and a lint accumulation box 6 in which lint 4 collected by the lint cleaning mechanism 3 is accumulated. The lint cleaning mechanism 3 is configured as a blade cleaning mechanism, and includes a blade-shaped cleaning member 3a (hereinafter, may be referred to as “blade 3a”) and a moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the blade 3a. It has a structure to have.

In the example shown in FIG. 1A, the blade 3a is arranged in the inner portion of the air passage 1 located on the left side portion (upper portion in FIG. 1A) on the upstream side of the filter 2, and the filter 2 is arranged. The lint accumulation box 6 is attached to the outer portion of the air passage 1 located on the right side portion on the upstream side (the lower portion in FIG. 1A). The blade 3a is made of an elastic body. The lint accumulation box 6 is arranged outside the wall surface on the right side (lower side in FIG. 1A) of the air passage 1. The lint accumulation box 6 has a structure in which airtightness is maintained when it is attached to the outside of the air passage 1.

A connecting opening 6op is provided between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6. The connecting opening 6op is an opening in which the lint 4 scraped from the filter 2 by the blade 3a is sent into the lint accumulation box 6 in a state where the lint accumulation box 6 is attached to the outside of the air passage 1. The connecting opening 6op is preferably formed in a slit shape having a gap of about several mm to 1 cm according to the amount of the cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6. On the other hand, the width of the connecting opening 6op is sized according to the width of the filter 2. More correctly, the width of the connecting opening 6op is set to a size according to the configuration of the collecting mechanism. The lint accumulation box 6 has a box-shaped structure in which all but the connecting opening 6op for collecting lint is closed so that wind does not flow inside when the shielding wall 7 is opened.

A shield wall 7 that can be opened and closed is provided in the connecting opening 6op. Further, around the shielding wall 7, a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) such as an actuator for opening / closing the shielding wall 7 and a shielding such as a CPU for operating the shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) are shielded. Wall opening / closing control means (not shown) and the like are provided.

Further, inside the lint accumulation box 6, a rotating paddle 8 that functions as a recovery lint compression mechanism for sending the cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 is provided. There is.

In the filter cleaning mechanism 12, the shielding wall 7 is held at a position that shields between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6 when the drying air is blown. Then, when the lint cleaning mechanism 3 or the lint transport mechanism is operating (when the air for drying air is stopped), the shielding wall 7 is a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) or a shielding wall opening / closing control means (not shown). Opened by.

In the filter cleaning mechanism 12, the lint cleaning mechanism 3 has a configuration in which a cleaning mechanism using a blade 3a that moves in contact with or close to the surface of the filter 2 and a lint transport mechanism that conveys the lint 4 are combined. It has become. The lint cleaning mechanism 3 has a structure in which the movement range of the lint transport mechanism reaches the inside of the lint accumulation box 6.

The filter cleaning mechanism 12 operates in the following three operation modes.
(1) Drying process mode (see FIG. 1 (a))
(2) Cleaning process mode (see Fig. 1 (b))
(3) Disposal process mode (see Fig. 1 (c))

(1) In the drying process mode (see FIG. 1A), the blade 3a is arranged in a standby place provided inside the air passage 1. In the example shown in FIG. 1A, the standby place is set in the left side portion on the upstream side of the filter 2 (the upper portion in FIG. 1A) inside the air passage 1. The waiting place is a place facing the lint accumulation box 6 via the air passage 1. Further, the standby place is a place outside the filter 2, and is a place that does not affect the blowing of the drying air. In the drying process mode, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 uses a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) to hold the shielding wall 7 provided between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6 in a closed state.

In the drying process mode, the lint 4 of the cloth flowing together with the drying air by blowing air is captured on the surface of the filter 2. Further, since the blade 3a is arranged in the standby place, it has almost no effect on the blowing of the drying air. Further, in the lint accumulation box 6, since the connecting opening 6op is closed by the shielding wall 7, it does not affect the blowing of the drying air.

(2) In the cleaning process mode (see FIG. 1B), the blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) is stopped. Therefore, the cleaning process mode is performed with the blowing of the drying air completely stopped. The filter cleaning mechanism 12 is a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) that opens the shielding wall 7 provided between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6. Then, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 uses a moving mechanism (not shown) to move the blade 3a in the direction of the lint accumulation box 6 along the surface of the filter 2. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 collects the lint 4 while scraping the lint 4 adhering to the filter 2 in the drying process mode and conveys the lint 4 in the direction of the lint accumulation box 6. Then, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 sends the conveyed lint 4 into the lint accumulation box 6. As a result, the cleaned lint 4 is collected in the lint accumulation box 6.

Inside the lint accumulation box 6, a rotating paddle 8 as a recovery lint compression mechanism is arranged. The cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 is sent to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 while being compressed by the rotation of the rotating paddle 8. Most of the lint 4 is composed of lint and fiber waste. Therefore, the lint 4 immediately after being sent into the lint accumulation box 6 is in a low density state. However, when the lint 4 is sent to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 by the rotary paddle 8, it is compressed by the rotary paddle 8, so that the lint 4 is accumulated inside the lint accumulation box 6 in a high density state. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 can collect a relatively large amount of lint 4 even when the lint accumulation box 6 having a relatively small volume is used. The filter cleaning mechanism 12 may rotate the rotary paddle 8 even after the shielding wall 7 is closed. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 can further compress the lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 and store the lint 4 in a compact state.

(3) In the disposal process mode (see FIG. 1 (c)), the blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) is stopped as in the cleaning process mode (see FIG. 1 (b)). Therefore, the disposal process mode is performed with the blowing of the drying air completely stopped. In the disposal process mode, the lint accumulation box 6 is removed from the cloth drying device and the lint disposal door 9 is opened. As a result, the cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 is discarded outside the lint accumulation box 6. When the lint 4 is discarded, the lint collection box 6 is attached to the specified position of the cloth drying device. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 prepares for the next execution of the drying process.

In such a configuration, the cloth drying device dries the cloth in a short time by blowing a very strong air to the cloth. Therefore, the amount of air for drying flowing through the air passage 1 is also large. The filter cleaning mechanism 12 eliminates the influence of wind in the cleaning process by performing the cleaning process mode with the air blown stopped. Further, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 separates the drying process mode and the cleaning process mode. In the drying process mode, the blade 3a is held in a standby place provided outside the filter 2, and the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box are held. By closing the space between the 6 and the air shield wall 7, the adverse effect on the ventilation in the drying process is almost eliminated.

The cloth drying device is preferably configured to include a shielding wall locking mechanism (not shown) that holds the shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) in a closed state. Then, in a mode other than the cleaning process mode, it is preferable that the shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is held in the closed state by the shielding wall locking mechanism (not shown).

In the cloth drying apparatus according to the present invention, the switching control to the drying process mode, the cleaning process mode, and the disposal process mode can be switched by the following several methods.

First, as a basic switching control, there is a switching control from the drying process mode to the cleaning process mode. The simplest and easiest way to switch from the drying process mode to the cleaning process mode is to switch to the cleaning process mode after each drying process or every predetermined number of drying processes, and filter 2 It is a method of cleaning. The number of drying processes to be switched depends on the easiness of clogging of the filter 2. This is affected by the maximum amount of cloth in the drying process and the area of the filter 2 at one time, so it is preferable to determine this experimentally in advance.

However, the amount of lint 4 generated varies greatly depending on the amount, type, and degree of damage of the cloth to be dried. Further, the cross-sectional area of the air passage 1 and the area of the filter 2 are also limited. Therefore, it is desirable to detect the degree of clogging of the filter 2 and clean the filter 2 at an appropriate timing.

The cloth drying device can automatically clean the filter 2 by using the filter cleaning mechanism 12. Therefore, the cloth drying device can clean the filter 2 even in the middle of one drying process when the filter 2 is clogged and the efficiency is lowered. However, since the filter cleaning mechanism 12 does not dry the cloth during the cleaning process, it accurately detects the degree of clogging of the filter 2 when switching from the drying process mode to the cleaning process mode. , It is preferable to switch to the cleaning process mode.

As a method for detecting the degree of clogging of the filter 2, it can be realized by detecting the flow rate of the drying air on the downstream side of the filter 2 inside the air passage 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the cloth drying device is provided with a flow rate sensor (not shown) for drying air on the downstream side of the filter 2 inside the air passage 1, and is detected by the flow rate sensor (not shown). The configuration is such that the cleaning process mode is switched based on the decrease in the flow rate of the drying air. However, by providing a flow velocity sensor for drying air, a temperature sensor, or the like inside the air passage 1 in addition to the flow rate sensor for the drying air, the cloth drying device detects the degree of clogging of the filter 2 and similarly. Can be controlled.

Further, another method of detecting the degree of clogging of the filter 2 can be realized by detecting the degree of drying of the cloth. For example, in the cloth drying device, a temperature / humidity sensor is installed in a rotating drum that functions as a cloth drying chamber, and the drying efficiency can be detected from the time change of the temperature / humidity in the rotating drum. Further, another method of detecting the degree of clogging of the filter 2 can be realized by measuring the weight change of the dried cloth. For example, in the cloth drying device, a weighing scale is installed in a rotating drum, which is a cloth drying chamber, and the drying efficiency can be known from the change in the weight of the cloth in the rotating drum. In addition to this, there are several methods for detecting the degree of clogging of the filter 2, such as measuring the load (current) of the blower motor. If the cloth drying device combines these methods to form an algorithm, it becomes possible to detect the degree of clogging of the filter 2 with higher accuracy.

When the cloth drying device detects the clogging of the filter 2 and switches from the drying process mode to the cleaning process mode, the cloth drying device stops the drying process even during the drying process to perform the cleaning process mode. You can switch to. In the cleaning process mode, the lint 4 is collected in the lint collection box 6. It is preferable that the lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 is not affected by the blast. Therefore, the cleaning process mode is preferably performed with the air blown completely stopped.

If the cleaning process mode is not switched in the middle of the drying process (that is, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is operated during the drying process), the cloth drying device is linted. The drying process can be carried out with the stacking box 6 removed. As a result, the cloth drying device can dispose of the lint 4 contained in the removed lint accumulation box 6 while performing the drying process. That is, the cloth drying device can perform the drying process mode and the disposal process mode in parallel.

Next, as another switching control, there is a switching control from the drying process mode or the cleaning process mode to the disposal process mode. The simplest and easiest way to switch to the disposal process mode is to perform a predetermined number of drying processes or a predetermined number of cleaning processes to switch to the disposal process mode, and then use the lint collection box 6. This is a method of notifying the operator of the cloth drying device to remove and dispose of it. Alternatively, as a method of switching to the disposal process mode, it is also possible to use an algorithm that combines the drying time and the amount of dried cloth in order to make the switching timing to the disposal process mode more accurate.

However, it is difficult to accurately predict the amount of lint 4 accumulated inside the lint accumulation box 6 only by these methods. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the cloth drying device has a structure in which the rotating paddle 8 that functions as the recovery lint compression mechanism installed inside the lint accumulation box 6 is provided with the recovery lint compression resistance detecting means (not shown). It is assumed that it has become. Such a cloth drying device can detect the rotational load of the rotary paddle 8 (operating load resistance during operation of the rotary paddle 8) by the recovery lint compression resistance detecting means (not shown), thereby forming the lint accumulation box 6. The amount of lint 4 recovered inside can be predicted accurately.

Specifically, in the cloth drying device, as the amount of lint 4 accumulated inside the lint accumulation box 6 increases, the rotational load of the rotating paddle 8 increases. The cloth drying device detects the rotational load of the rotary paddle 8 by monitoring the drive current and voltage of the drive motor (not shown) of the rotary paddle 8 with the recovery lint compression resistance detecting means (not shown). To do. Then, the cloth drying device combines the drive load of the rotating paddle 8 with the number of operations (number of executions) of the drying process and the cleaning process described above to accurately measure the amount of lint 4 accumulated inside the lint accumulation box 6. Predict well. As a result, the cloth drying device can control the switching to the disposal process mode at an appropriate timing.

In the present embodiment, the lint accumulation box 6 is provided with a lint disposal door 9 in addition to the connecting opening 6op. This is due to the following reasons. First, the connection opening 6op is preferably as small as possible in order to suppress the influence on the air passage 1 and prevent the lint 4 from flowing back from the lint accumulation box 6. However, the small size of the opening is inconvenient when disposing of the lint 4 from the lint storage box 6. Further, in the vicinity of the connecting opening 6op to which the lint 4 is fed, a member such as a rotating paddle 8 for compressing the lint 4 to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 is arranged. Therefore, the lint accumulation box 6 has a structure in which it is difficult to discharge the lint 4 from the connecting opening 6op into which the lint 4 is fed. In addition, the lint 4 collected by the rotating paddle 8 is accumulated in the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 while being compressed. For these reasons, it is preferable that the lint accumulation box 6 is provided with a lint disposal door 9 in addition to the connecting opening 6op. It is desirable that the lint disposal door 9 be installed on the side facing the connecting opening 6op into which the lint 4 is fed. However, the lint accumulation box 6 does not exclude the lint 4 from being discarded from the connection opening 6op without providing the lint disposal door 9.

In such a configuration, the cleaning mechanism movable type filter cleaning mechanism 12 shown in FIG. 1 has the following features.
(1) The lint cleaning mechanism 3 of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 also serves as a cleaning mechanism using a blade 3a that moves in contact with or close to the surface of the filter 2 and a lint transport mechanism that conveys the lint 4. It has a structure. The lint cleaning mechanism 3 has a structure in which the movement range of the lint transport mechanism reaches the inside of the lint accumulation box 6. The filter cleaning mechanism 12 includes a shielding wall 7 that shields between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6, and a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) for opening / closing the shielding wall 7. Such a filter cleaning mechanism 12 closes the shielding wall 7 at a desired timing (the timing at which the drying process mode in which the drying air is blown is executed), so that the lint 4 after cleaning collected by the filter cleaning is performed. Can be prevented from reattaching to the filter 2. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 suppresses the adhesion of the cleaned lint 4 to the filter 2 provided in the air passage 1 to reduce the drying efficiency and increase the drying energy and the drying time. Can be done.

(2) The filter cleaning mechanism 12 operates the shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) under the control of the shielding wall opening / closing control means (not shown) only in the cleaning process mode performed when the air is not blown to open the shielding wall 7. Open. Further, the cloth drying device controls the blower fan 14 so as to stop the blower in the cleaning process mode. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 can realize cleaning of the filter 2 and transportation of the lint 4 to the lint accumulation box 6 in a state where the wind in the air passage 1 is stopped. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 can prevent the influence of the wind on the lint 4 after cleaning collected in the lint accumulation box 6, and the lint 4 is reattached to the filter 2 provided in the air passage 1. Can be prevented.

Further, in the cleaning process mode in which the lint 4 adhering to the filter 2 is scraped off by the blade 3a, a force for pressing the lint 4 against the filter 2 side is generated. At this time, if the air is blown, the wind force of the air is applied to the lint 4 pressed against the filter 2, so that the lint 4 may pass through the filter 2. However, since the filter cleaning mechanism 12 automatically cleans the filter 2 and conveys the lint 4 to the lint accumulation box 6 with the air blown completely stopped, the lint 4 pressed against the filter 2 passes through the filter 2. Can be efficiently suppressed.

(3) A slit-shaped connecting opening 6op having a gap of about several mm to 1 cm is provided between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6 according to the amount of the collected lint 4 after cleaning. ing. On the other hand, the width of the connecting opening 6op is sized according to the width of the filter 2. Since the filter cleaning mechanism 12 can control the open / closed state of the connecting opening 6op with the openable / closable shielding wall 7, the lint 4 can be collected relatively stably in the cleaning process mode, and the lint accumulation box 6 can be collected. It is possible to prevent the lint 4 from returning to the air passage 1.

(4) Since the lint accumulation box 6 is arranged in the vicinity of the air passage 1 in the filter cleaning mechanism 12, the transport distance of the lint 4 after cleaning collected from the filter 2 can be shortened, which is relatively simple. A simple cleaning mechanism and a transport mechanism can be realized.

(5) The filter cleaning mechanism 12 collects the inside of the lint accumulation box 6 with a relatively simple configuration by providing the recovery lint compression resistance detecting means (not shown) on the rotating paddle 8 that functions as the recovery lint compression mechanism. The amount of lint 4 produced can be predicted with high accuracy.

<Structure of filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism>
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a filter cleaning mechanism 12 with a movable cleaning mechanism. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the filter cleaning mechanism 12 can have a filter moving type structure depending on the type and shape of the filter 2 and the state of the lint 4 to be cleaned.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 according to the present embodiment of the filter moving type will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a rotary brush cleaning mechanism as a configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism 12. 2 (a), 2 (b), and 2 (c) show the states of the filter cleaning mechanism 12a in the drying process mode, the cleaning process mode, and the disposal process mode, respectively.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the structure in the vicinity of the filter 2 of the air passage 1 through which the drying air passes, as in FIG. In FIG. 2, a filter 2 is provided in the middle of the air passage 1. The drying air flows in from the upstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the air passage 1 along the white arrow 5a and reaches the filter 2. Then, the drying air passes through the filter 2 and flows out to the downstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the air passage 1 along the white arrow 5b. The filter 2 captures the lint 4 as the drying air passes through. A heater (not shown), a blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3), and the like are installed on the downstream side of the blower passage 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12a includes a lint cleaning mechanism 11 instead of the lint cleaning mechanism 3 as compared with the cleaning mechanism moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12 shown in FIG. The difference is that the filter transport mechanism 10 is provided.

The lint cleaning mechanism 11 is configured as a rotary brush cleaning mechanism, and is a rotary brush-like cleaning member 11a (hereinafter, may be referred to as a “rotary brush 11a”) and a drive mechanism for rotating the rotary brush 11a (shown in the figure). It has a structure with (s) and.

The filter transport mechanism 10 has a function of transporting the filter 2 deployed inside the air passage 1 to the inside of the lint accumulation box 6, and returns the filter 2 conveyed inside the lint accumulation box 6 to the original position to blow air. It has a function of deploying inside the road 1. Such a filter transport mechanism 10 includes, for example, a holding means for holding and releasing the filter 2 deployed inside the air passage 1, a moving means for moving the filter 2, and the air passage 1 and lint. This can be achieved by having a guide means for guiding the movement of the filter 2 to and from the storage box 6.

The rotating brush 11a is arranged inside the lint accumulation box 6. In the filter cleaning mechanism 12a, the filter 2 is conveyed to the inside of the lint accumulation box 6 by the filter transfer mechanism 10, and the rotary brush 11a is brought into contact with the filter 2 inside the lint accumulation box 6, and the rotary brush 11a is moved in that state. Rotate. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a scrapes the lint 4 adhering to the filter 2 inside the lint accumulation box 6 with the rotating brush 11a. The cleaned lint 4 scraped off by the rotating brush 11a is housed inside the lint accumulation box 6.

Inside the lint accumulation box 6, a rotating paddle 8 as a recovery lint compression mechanism is arranged at a position near the rotating brush 11a. The cleaned lint 4 scraped off inside the lint accumulation box 6 is sent to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 by the rotation of the rotating paddle 8. At that time, since the lint 4 after cleaning is compressed by the rotating paddle 8, it is accumulated in a high-density state inside the lint accumulation box 6.

In the filter cleaning mechanism 12a, the lint cleaning mechanism 11 includes a filter transport mechanism 10 near the entrance of the lint accumulation box 6. The filter transport mechanism 10 transports the lint 4 together with the filter 2 into the lint accumulation box 6. Further, the lint cleaning mechanism 11 includes a rotating brush 11a provided inside the lint accumulation box 6. The rotary brush 11a scrapes the lint 4 adhering to the filter 2 by rotating in a state of being in contact with or close to the surface of the filter 2.

Similar to the filter cleaning mechanism 12 shown in FIG. 1, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a operates in the following three operation modes.
(1) Drying process mode (see Fig. 2 (a))
(2) Cleaning process mode (see Fig. 2 (b))
(3) Disposal process mode (see Fig. 2 (c))

(1) In the drying process mode (see FIG. 2A), the rotating brush 11a is stopped inside the lint accumulation box 6. In the drying process mode, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a uses a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) to hold the shielding wall 7 provided between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6 in a closed state.

In the drying process mode, the lint 4 flowing with the drying air by blowing air is captured on the surface of the filter 2. Further, in the lint accumulation box 6, since the connecting opening 6op is closed by the shielding wall 7, it does not affect the blowing of the drying air.

(2) In the cleaning process mode (see FIG. 2B), the blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) is stopped. Therefore, the cleaning process mode is performed with the blowing of the drying air completely stopped. The filter cleaning mechanism 12a is a shielding wall opening / closing mechanism (not shown) that opens the shielding wall 7 provided between the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6. Then, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a conveys the filter 2 to the inside of the lint accumulation box 6 by the filter transfer mechanism 10, and brings the rotary brush 11a into contact with the filter 2 inside the lint accumulation box 6, and in that state, the rotary brush Rotate 11a. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a scrapes the lint 4 adhering to the filter 2 inside the lint accumulation box 6 with the rotating brush 11a. The cleaned lint 4 scraped off by the rotating brush 11a is housed inside the lint accumulation box 6.

Inside the lint accumulation box 6, a rotating paddle 8 as a recovery lint compression mechanism is arranged. The cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 is sent to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 by the rotation of the rotating paddle 8. Immediately after being sent into the lint accumulation box 6, the lint 4 is compressed by the rotary paddle 8 when it is sent to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 by the rotary paddle 8, and is in a high-density state inside the lint accumulation box 6. It is accumulated in. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a can collect a relatively large amount of lint 4 even when the lint accumulation box 6 having a relatively small volume is used. The filter cleaning mechanism 12a may rotate the rotating brush 11a and the rotating paddle 8 even after the shielding wall 7 is closed. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a can clean the rotating brush 11a and compress the cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 even after the shielding wall 7 is closed.

(3) In the disposal process mode (see FIG. 2C), the blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) is stopped as in the cleaning process mode (see FIG. 2B). Therefore, the disposal process mode is performed with the blowing of the drying air completely stopped. In the disposal process mode, the lint accumulation box 6 is removed from the cloth drying device and the lint disposal door 9 is opened. As a result, the cleaned lint 4 collected in the lint accumulation box 6 is discarded outside the lint accumulation box 6. When the lint 4 is discarded, the lint collection box 6 is attached to the specified position of the cloth drying device. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a prepares for the next execution of the drying process.

Since the cleaning mechanism movable filter cleaning mechanism 12 shown in FIG. 1 has a simple structure, it is easy to apply to a cloth drying device. On the other hand, since the filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12a shown in FIG. 2 has a complicated structure, it is applied to a cloth drying device rather than the cleaning mechanism moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12 shown in FIG. hard. However, in the filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12a shown in FIG. 2, since the filter 2 can be strongly brought into contact with the cleaning member, high cleaning performance can be obtained with respect to the filter 2. In both types of "cleaning mechanism moving type" and "filter moving type", a blade cleaning mechanism using a blade, a rotating brush cleaning mechanism using a rotating brush, and a non-rotating brush (not shown) are used. Any one of the existing brush cleaning mechanisms can be selected and combined. These combinations may be performed in consideration of the state of adhesion of the lint 4 to the filter 2 and the cleanability.

The filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12a shown in FIG. 2 is realized based on the same idea as the cleaning mechanism moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12 shown in FIG. 1, and is the cleaning mechanism moving type shown in FIG. It has the same features as the filter cleaning mechanism 12, and has the same configuration as the mode switching control and the lint accumulation box 6.

<Structure of cloth drying device>
Hereinafter, the configuration of the cloth drying device 20 using the filter cleaning mechanism 12 (or the filter cleaning mechanism 12a) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the cloth drying device 20. Here, the case where the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in which a part of the shape shown in FIG. 1 is deformed is used in the cloth drying device 20 will be described. Further, the case where the cloth drying device 20 is configured as a horizontal rotary drum type drying device will be described. Further, the case where the cloth drying device 20 is configured as a washing / drying device having a cloth washing function and a cloth drying function will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cloth drying device 20 includes a blower path 1 through which drying air passes, a heater (not shown) for heating the air, a blower fan 14 for blowing the drying air, and cloth. It includes a cylindrical rotary drum 15 that functions as a washing room and a drying chamber, a cloth input door 16 that seals the rotary drum 15, and a motor 17 that rotates the rotary drum 15.

The cloth is thrown into the rotating drum 15 through the cloth throwing door 16 provided on the front surface of the device. A motor 17 is directly connected to the rotating drum 15. The rotating drum 15 is rotated by the motor 17 to agitate the cloth, and the drying air blown from the blower fan 14 is applied to the cloth to dry the cloth. The air is heated by a heater (not shown) or the like. The air heated by a heater (not shown) or the like circulates between the air passage 1 and the rotating drum 15 along the route of the arrow as drying air for drying the cloth.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the cloth drying device 20 is configured as a washing / drying device having a cloth washing function in addition to the cloth drying function. Such a cloth drying device 20 includes a water supply port 19 for supplying water to the rotating drum 15 and a drain port 18 for draining water, and can be washed by stirring the cloth together with the detergent.

A blower fan 14 as a blower means is provided in at least a part of the blower passage 1. A filter 2 provided with a lint cleaning mechanism 3 (or a lint cleaning mechanism 11) is arranged close to the windward side of the blower fan 14.

The filter cleaning mechanism 12 is arranged above the cloth drying device 20 and at a position on the upstream side of the blower fan 14. Considering the removal of the lint accumulation box 6 and the maintainability in the vicinity of the filter 2, the most suitable place for mounting the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is the upper part of the cloth drying device 20. In particular, in a device such as a washing / drying device that stores water in a rotating drum 15, the mounting location of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 having the lint accumulation box 6 is preferably a high location that is not affected by water. Similarly, the mounting location of the blower fan 14 is preferably a high location that is not affected by water.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the cloth drying device 20, another fixed filter 13 different from the filter 2 is arranged between the filter cleaning mechanism 12 and the blower fan 14. The fixed filter 13 is a fixed filter without an automatic cleaning function.

The cloth drying device 20 can capture almost all the lint 4 flowing inside the air passage 1 with the filter 2. However, in a cleaning mechanism that mechanically cleans the filter 2 with a cleaning member, such as the filter cleaning mechanism 12 and the filter cleaning mechanism 12a, the filter 2 may be damaged to a very small extent. Further, in the filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism 12a shown in FIG. 2, the filter 2 is retracted from the inside of the air passage 1 to the outside in the cleaning process mode. Therefore, the filter cleaning mechanism 12a completely stops the blowing air in the cleaning process mode, but there is a possibility that a slight control abnormality occurs and the air flows. When these phenomena occur, the lint 4 may pass through the filter 2 and flow into a blower fan 14 or a heater (not shown) on the downstream side. If a large amount of lint 4 flows into a blower fan 14 or a heater (not shown), a failure of the device may occur. Therefore, it is preferable that the cloth drying device 20 makes it difficult for the lint 4 to flow into the downstream side of the filter 2.

Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the cloth drying device 20 has a structure in which a fixed filter 13 is installed between the filter cleaning mechanism 12 and the blower fan 14. As a result, the cloth drying device 20 makes it difficult for the lint 4 to flow into the downstream side of the filter 2.

The cloth drying device 20 does not need to clean the fixed filter 13 as long as the filter cleaning mechanism 12 operates normally. However, when the cloth drying device 20 continues to operate for a long period of time without cleaning the fixed filter 13, lint 4 or the like that has slightly passed through the filter 2 on the upstream side adheres to the fixed filter 13 and accumulates. However, it may interfere with the ventilation of the drying air.

Therefore, the cloth drying device 20 has a structure in which the fixed filter 13 is arranged at the position closest to the filter cleaning mechanism 12. By removing the lint accumulation box 6 from the air passage 1, such a cloth drying device 20 accesses the fixed filter 13 installed inside the air passage 1 on the device side from the portion from which the lint accumulation box 6 is removed. Since it can be easily cleaned, the fixed filter 13 can be easily cleaned and maintained.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a mounting arrangement example of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in the cloth drying device 20. In FIG. 4, reference numeral "20f" indicates the front surface of the cloth drying device 20, reference numeral "20s" indicates the side surface of the cloth drying device 20, and reference numeral "20b" indicates the back surface of the cloth drying device 20. Is shown. As described below, the most appropriate mounting location for the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is the space diagonally above the rotating drum 15, which is the upper space of the cloth drying device 20.

For example, in the cloth drying device 20, a relatively large cylindrical rotating drum 15 is mounted because it is necessary to be able to dry as many cloths as possible within a limited device size. The cloth drying device 20 has a substantially box-shaped shape. When a relatively large cylindrical rotating drum 15 is mounted in the cloth drying device 20, the space where the remaining filter cleaning mechanism 12 can be mounted is on the back surface 20b side of the cloth drying device 20. It is a space in the vicinity of the motor 17 (see FIG. 3) and a space diagonally above the rotating drum 15 on the side surface 20s side of the cloth drying device 20, which is an upper space of the cloth drying device 20. Since the motor 17 (see FIG. 3) is a driving member and a source of vibration, it is difficult to mount the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in the space near the motor 17 (see FIG. 3). Therefore, the most appropriate mounting location for the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is the space diagonally above the rotating drum 15, which is the upper space of the cloth drying device 20.

For this reason, the cloth drying device 20 mounts the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in the space diagonally above the rotating drum 15 on the side surface 20s side of the cloth drying device 20, which is the upper space of the cloth drying device 20. ing. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the cloth drying device 20 arranges the air passage 1 so that the air passage 1 passes through the space diagonally above the rotating drum 15, and the air passages before and after the filter cleaning mechanism 12. The arrangement shape of 1 is L-shaped, and the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is mounted on the bent portion 1b of the air passage 1 which is substantially perpendicular to the L-shape. The cloth drying device 20 can realize the miniaturization of the device by adopting such an arrangement shape of the air passage 1. The blower fan 14 is arranged at a position near the side surface 20s in the upper space of the cloth drying device 20 so as to be arranged near the downstream side of the filter cleaning mechanism 12. A vertical duct 1a is arranged on the back surface 20b of the cloth drying device 20 so that drying air can be blown from the filter cleaning mechanism 12 toward the blower fan 14.

The drying air passes through the vertical duct 1a and flows through the inside of the air passage 1 toward the bent portion 1b along the white arrow 5a, and changes the traveling direction toward the blower fan 14 at the bent portion 1b. Then, the drying air flows inside the air passage 1 along the white arrow 5b and reaches the air fan 14.

As described below, the lint accumulation box 6 is preferably mounted at a position 6a on the side far from the blower fan 14 around the L-shaped bent portion 1b in the blower path 1.

For example, since the space diagonally above the rotating drum 15 on which the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is mounted is a narrow space, the mounting location of the lint accumulation box 6 is limited. Since the filter cleaning mechanism 12 is mounted on the L-shaped bent portion 1b in the air passage 1, the space in which the lint accumulation box 6 can be mounted is the air blown around the L-shaped bent portion 1b in the air passage 1. It is on the position 6a side far from the fan 14 or on the position 6b side near the blower fan 14. If the filter 2, the lint cleaning mechanism 3, and the fixed filter 13 are arranged at the position 6b on the side close to the blower fan 14, the surfaces of the filters 2 and 13 are on the side close to the blower fan 14, that is, the cloth drying device. It is arranged parallel to the side surface 20s of the 20. Therefore, this configuration is arranged around the blower fan 14 when the moving direction of the blade 3a of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in the cleaning process mode (in the filter cleaning mechanism 12a shown in FIG. 2, the transport direction of the filter 2) is taken into consideration. It is not preferable because it is necessary to secure a relatively large space. Therefore, when the moving direction of the blade 3a of the filter cleaning mechanism 12 in the cleaning process mode (the transport direction of the filter 2 in the filter cleaning mechanism 12a shown in FIG. 2) is taken into consideration, the lint accumulation box 6 may be mounted at the mounting location. , The position 6a on the side far from the blower fan 14 around the L-shaped bent portion 1b in the blower path 1 is preferable.

<Another configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism>
The cloth drying device 20 can use the filter cleaning mechanism 12b shown in FIG. 5 instead of the filter cleaning mechanisms 12 and 12a. Hereinafter, the configuration of the filter cleaning mechanism 12b will be described with reference to FIG. The filter cleaning mechanism 12b is a filter moving type filter cleaning mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a rotary brush cleaning mechanism as a configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism 12b. FIG. 5 shows the cross-sectional structure of the filter cleaning mechanism 12b as seen from the back surface 20b (see FIG. 4) side of the cloth drying device 20. FIG. 5A shows a state of the filter cleaning mechanism 12b when the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is attached to the cloth drying device 20 to perform a drying process or a blowing process. FIG. 5B shows a filter cleaning mechanism 12b when the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is removed from the cloth drying device 20 and the lint 4 accumulated in the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is discarded or the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is maintained. Indicates the state of.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the filter cleaning mechanism 12b includes a filter transport mechanism 10 that transports the filter 2 between the air passage 1 and the gap 21a, a rotating brush 11b that functions as a cleaning member for the filter 2, and the rotary brush 11b. It includes a drive mechanism (not shown) for rotating the rotary brush 11b, and a comb-shaped member 22 that functions as a cleaning member for the rotary brush 11b. The gap 21a is a space provided between the filter transport guide 26 described later and the door 21 described later. The rotating brush 11b and the drive mechanism (not shown) constitute the lint cleaning mechanism 11. The rotary brush 11b is arranged at the inlet 6en of the lint accumulation box 6.

In the example shown in FIG. 5A, a bent portion 1c bent in an arc shape in a substantially right angle direction is provided on the windward side of the filter 2 of the air passage 1. A shielding wall 7a is arranged on the side of the bent portion 1c opposite to the filter 2, and a lint accumulation box 6 is arranged on the outside of the shielding wall 7a.

The shielding wall 7a is configured as a semi-cylindrical rotary door, and is in contact with the filter 2 on a curved surface. The shielding wall 7a has a structure that is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to rotate, and opens and closes by rotating. The shielding wall 7a is rotated by 90 degrees to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 5A to communicate between the air passage 1 and the inlet 6en of the lint accumulation box 6. The shielding wall 7a is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown) of the lint cleaning mechanism 11. Therefore, the shielding wall 7a is integrally configured with the lint cleaning mechanism 11, and operates in accordance with the operation of the lint cleaning mechanism 11.

In the example shown in FIG. 5A, the drying air flowing from the vertical duct 1a on the back surface 20b (see FIG. 4) side of the cloth drying device 20 toward the filter 2 is a region from the upper side of the paper surface (the side penetrating the paper surface). Come into IN. The drying air flows from the region IN to the bent portion 1c, bends at a substantially right angle to the left inside the bent portion 1c, passes through the filter 2 and the fixed filter 13, and flows downstream along the white arrow OUT.

The filter 2 is a filter to be cleaned by the filter cleaning mechanism 12b. The filter 2 has a curved shape (arc shape), and is arranged so as to be movable between the air passage 1 and the gap 21a. The portion of the lint accumulation box 6 facing the gap 21a is configured as a filter transport guide 26 that guides the movement of the filter 2. The upper surface of the filter transport guide 26 has a curved surface (arc shape) that matches the shape of the filter 2.

A fixed filter 13 is arranged on the downstream side of the filter 2. The fixed filter 13 has a flat shape and is fixed inside the air passage 1. A heater (not shown) and a blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) are arranged on the downstream side of the fixed filter 13.

The filter 2 is arranged inside the air passage 1 in the drying process mode. The filter cleaning mechanism 12b drives the filter transport mechanism 10 in the cleaning process mode to transport the filter 2 from the inside of the air passage 1 to the inside of the gap 21a, and also drives the lint cleaning mechanism 11 (not shown). To rotate the rotary brush 11b in the direction opposite to the transport direction of the filter 2. As a result, the filter cleaning mechanism 12b cleans the filter 2 by scraping the lint adhering to the filter 2 with the rotating brush 11b.

The lint scraped off by the rotating brush 11b is housed inside the lint accumulation box 6. A rotating paddle 8 that functions as a recovery lint compression mechanism is arranged diagonally below the rotating brush 11b. The lint is sent to the back side of the lint accumulation box 6 while being compressed by the rotation of the rotary paddle 8.

The filter cleaning mechanism 12b includes a comb-shaped member 22, and when the rotating brush 11b rotates, the comb-shaped member 22 removes lint adhering to the rotating brush 11b.

The filter cleaning mechanism 12b is configured so that a movable mechanism such as a curved filter 2 and a filter transport mechanism 10 can be integrally attached and detached together with the lint accumulation box 6. Such a configuration can obtain the following merits. For example, such a configuration can simplify the structure of the filter transport mechanism 10 for transporting the filter 2 between the air passage 1 and the inlet 6en of the lint accumulation box 6, and can simplify the structure of the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6. Airtightness with the entrance 6en of 6 can be easily ensured. Further, in such a configuration, the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is removed from the cloth drying device 20 by integrally removing the lint accumulation box 6, the filter 2, the filter transport mechanism 10, and the like, so that the device side from the portion where the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is removed. Since the fixed filter 13 installed inside the air passage 1 can be easily accessed, the fixed filter 13 can be easily cleaned and maintained.

FIG. 5B shows an openable portion of the filter cleaning mechanism 12b after being removed from the cloth drying device 20. As shown in FIG. 5B, the filter cleaning mechanism 12b is provided with an openable door 21 on the upper surface side of the filter transport guide 26 so that the inside of the filter 2 and the gap 21a can be cleaned. There is. The filter cleaning mechanism 12b can also replace the filter 2 by opening the door 21. Further, an openable lint disposal door 9 is provided at the bottom of the lint accumulation box 6. The lint is discarded when the lint accumulation box 6 is removed from the cloth drying device 20 and the lint disposal door 9 is opened in that state.

<Another configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism>
The cloth drying device 20 may use the filter cleaning mechanism 12c shown in FIG. 6 instead of the filter cleaning mechanisms 12, 12a and 12b. Hereinafter, the configuration of the filter cleaning mechanism 12c will be described with reference to FIG. The filter cleaning mechanism 12c is a cleaning mechanism movable type filter cleaning mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a blade cleaning mechanism as a configuration example of the filter cleaning mechanism 12c. FIG. 6 shows the cross-sectional structure of the filter cleaning mechanism 12c as seen from the back surface 20b (see FIG. 4) side of the cloth drying device 20. 6 (a) and 6 (b) show the state of the filter cleaning mechanism 12c in the drying process mode and the cleaning process mode, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c includes a blade 3b that functions as a cleaning member for the filter 2, a rotating mechanism 25 that rotatably supports the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b, and the blade 3b. A blade-shaped sealing material 24 for sealing between the outer peripheral surface and the inlet of the lint accumulation box 6 is provided. The blade 3b and the rotating mechanism 25 constitute a lint cleaning mechanism 3. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the lint cleaning mechanism 3 also has a configuration that also serves as a lint transport mechanism. The shielding wall 7b is integrally configured with the lint cleaning mechanism 3, and operates in accordance with the operation of the lint cleaning mechanism 3. The air passage 1 is formed in an S shape so as to be bent twice in a substantially right angle direction, and the rotation mechanism 25 is arranged at the bent portion 1d of the air passage 1.

The lint accumulation box 6 is arranged in the vicinity of the bent portion 1d so as to communicate with the air passage 1. Further, the lint accumulation box 6 is arranged so that the tip of the blade 3b reaches the inlet of the lint accumulation box 6 when the blade 3b rotates.

In the example shown in FIG. 6A, the drying air flowing from the vertical duct 1a on the back surface 20b (see FIG. 4) side of the cloth drying device 20 toward the filter 2 enters the region IN from the upper side of the paper surface. The drying air flows along the white arrow 5c. Specifically, the drying air flows from the region IN to the bent portion 1d on the lower left side, bends substantially at a right angle to the left inside the bent portion 1d, passes through the filter 2 and the fixed filter 13, and passes through the filter 2 and the fixed filter 13, and the white arrow OUT. It flows downstream along.

The filter 2 is a filter to be cleaned by the filter cleaning mechanism 12c. The filter 2 has a curved shape (arc shape) in accordance with the rotation direction of the tip portion of the blade 3b.

A fixed filter 13 is arranged on the downstream side of the filter 2. The fixed filter 13 has a flat shape and is fixed inside the air passage 1. A heater (not shown) and a blower fan 14 (see FIG. 3) are arranged on the downstream side of the fixed filter 13.

In the example shown in FIG. 6A, the lint accumulation box 6 is arranged on the diagonally lower right side of the rotation mechanism 25. Inside the lint accumulation box 6, a rotating paddle 8 that functions as a recovery lint compression mechanism is arranged.

A shielding wall 7b is arranged between the bent portion 1d of the air passage 1 and the lint accumulation box 6. The shielding wall 7b has a curved shape (arc shape) in accordance with the rotation direction of the tip portion of the blade 3b.

The blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b are rotatably supported by the rotating mechanism 25. The rotating mechanism 25 has a rotating shaft 25a provided near the center of the bent portion 1d of the air passage 1, and a plurality of columnar arms 25b that support the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b. The rotation mechanism 25 rotates the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b around the rotation shaft 25a. Therefore, the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b rotate about the same rotation shaft 25a.

The rotating mechanism 25 has an urging member 23 for adjusting the pressure of the cleaning blade. The urging member 23 is composed of a spring or the like, and urges the blade 3b in the outer peripheral direction. By providing the rotating mechanism 25 with an urging member 23, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c can stably maintain the pressing force of the blade 3b on the filter 2 and the wall surface at an appropriate value that can be cleaned.

The drying air passes through the gaps between the plurality of columnar arms 25b. Therefore, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c can flow the drying air to the filter 2 with almost no resistance.

As shown in FIG. 6A, in the drying process mode, the blade 3b is arranged in a standby place off the filter 2. Further, the shielding wall 7b is arranged at a closed position that closes the entrance of the lint accumulation box 6.

As shown in FIG. 6B, in the cleaning process mode, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c drives the rotating mechanism 25 to rotate the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b. At this time, the shielding wall 7b moves to a position away from the entrance of the lint accumulation box 6. As a result, the entrance of the lint accumulation box 6 is opened. At the same time, the blade 3b scrapes the lint adhering to the filter 2 and cleans the filter 2. Then, the blade 3b conveys the scraped and cleaned lint to the inlet of the lint accumulation box 6 and sends the lint into the lint accumulation box 6.

The cleaned lint 4 sent into the lint accumulation box 6 is sent to the bottom side of the lint accumulation box 6 while being compressed by the rotation of the rotating paddle 8. As a result, the cleaned lint 4 is accumulated inside the lint accumulation box 6.

The cleaned lint 4 accumulated inside the lint accumulation box 6 can be disposed of by removing the filter cleaning mechanism 12c from the cloth drying device 20 and opening the lint disposal door 9 in the disposal process mode. it can. In the example shown in FIG. 6B, the open lint disposal door 9 is shown by a dotted line. However, the lint disposal door 9 can be opened by removing the filter cleaning mechanism 12c from the cloth drying device 20.

Such a filter cleaning mechanism 12c is configured so that the blade 3b can rotate 360 degrees. Therefore, for example, even if the filter 2 cannot be sufficiently cleaned by one rotation of the blade 3b, the blade 3b The filter 2 can be efficiently cleaned by rotating the filter 2 a plurality of times.

In the example shown in FIG. 6A, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c arranges the blade 3b at a position near the front of the filter 2 in the drying process mode, that is, in the closed state of the shielding wall 7b. However, the position of the blade 3b in the drying process mode is not limited to that position. For example, in a configuration in which the blade 3b can be rotated 360 degrees, the position of the blade 3b in the drying process mode can be set to any angle. Further, the arrangement position of the blade 3b in the drying process mode can be set in consideration of a position where the blowing resistance is smaller, an angle and a position where lint is hard to adhere, and the like. Further, in the filter cleaning mechanism 12c, the number and structure of the arms 25b can be simplified by providing the blade 3b at the end of the shielding wall 7b and integrating the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b. The filter cleaning mechanism 12c may select an appropriate installation angle and position of the blade 3b and the shielding wall 7b according to the situation.

Further, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c includes a blade-shaped sealing material 24 that seals between the outer peripheral surface of the blade 3b and the inlet of the lint accumulation box 6. The blade-shaped sealing material 24 is made of an elastic body. The blade-shaped sealing material 24 is arranged at the downstream end of the blade 3b in the rotation direction at the inlet of the lint accumulation box 6. By providing the blade-shaped sealing material 24, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c can scrape the lint adhering to the rotating blade 3b into the inside of the lint accumulation box 6.

In the disposal process mode, the shielding wall 7b is fixed at a position where the lint accumulation box 6 is closed. Therefore, when the filter cleaning mechanism 12c is removed from the cloth drying device 20, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c has a structure that does not spill lint from the lint accumulation box 6. The lint is disposed of by opening the lint disposal door 9 provided on the bottom side of the lint accumulation box 6. The lint inside the lint accumulation box 6 is collected on the bottom side of the lint accumulation box 6 by the rotation of the rotating paddle 8 in the cleaning process mode. Therefore, the filter cleaning mechanism 12c can smoothly dispose of the lint inside the lint accumulation box 6 by opening the lint disposal door 9.

As described above, according to the cloth drying device 20 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the lint after cleaning from reattaching to the filter 2.
Further, the cloth drying device 20 can efficiently remove the lint adhering to the filter 2. Therefore, the cloth drying device 20 can suppress the decrease in the air blowing efficiency and the decrease in the drying efficiency in the drying process mode, and can suppress the increase in the drying energy and the drying time. .. As a result, the cloth drying device 20 can obtain high drying efficiency and can save drying energy.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to the one including all the described configurations. Further, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of the embodiment with another configuration, and it is also possible to add another configuration to the configuration of the embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add / delete / replace other configurations for a part of each configuration.

Further, for example, the cloth drying device 20 may be configured as a washing / drying device having a washing function and a drying function for cloth.

1 Blower 1a Vertical duct 1b Bending point 1c, 1d Bending part 2 Filter (with automatic cleaning function)
3 Blade cleaning mechanism (lint cleaning mechanism)
3a, 3b Blade 4 Lint 6 Lint Accumulation Box 6en Lint Accumulation Box Entrance 6op Connection Opening 7,7a, 7b Shielding Wall 8 Rotating Paddle (Recovery Lint Compression Mechanism)
9 Lint disposal door 10 Filter transport mechanism 11 Rotating brush cleaning mechanism (Lint cleaning mechanism)
11a, 11b Rotating brush 12, 12a, 12b, 12c Filter cleaning mechanism 13 Fixed filter (without automatic cleaning function)
14 Blower fan 15 Rotating drum 16 Cloth input door 17 Motor 18 Drain port 19 Water supply port 20 Cloth drying device (washing and drying device)
21 Door 21a Gap 22 Comb-shaped member 23 Biasing member 24 Blade-shaped sealing material 25 Rotating mechanism 25a Rotating shaft 25b Arm 26 Filter transport guide

Claims (10)

The air passage through which the drying air passes and
A filter for capturing lint provided in the air passage and
A lint cleaning mechanism that cleans the filter and collects lint adhering to the filter,
A lint collection box that is removable from the main body of the device and that collects lint collected by the lint cleaning mechanism.
A shielding wall that shields between the air passage and the lint accumulation box,
A shielding wall opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the shielding wall is provided .
The lint storage box is
A recovery lint compression mechanism for compressing the recovered lint is provided at a position on the upper side of the inside and at a position near the shielding wall.
A cloth drying device having a lint disposal door at the bottom for disposing of lint compressed by the recovery lint compression mechanism to the outside. In the cloth drying apparatus according to claim 1,
The lint cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning mechanism that moves in contact with or close to the surface of the filter, and a lint transport mechanism that transports lint collected by the lint cleaning mechanism to the lint accumulation box. The cloth drying device is characterized in that the movement range of the lint transport mechanism reaches the inside of the lint accumulation box. In the cloth drying apparatus according to claim 1,
A lint transport mechanism for transporting lint adhering to the filter to the lint accumulation box is provided.
The lint cleaning mechanism is provided inside the lint accumulation box.
The cloth drying device is characterized in that the lint transport mechanism also serves as a filter transport mechanism that transports lint together with the filter into the inside of the lint accumulation box. In the cloth drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
Further, the cloth drying apparatus is provided with a recovery lint compression resistance detecting means for detecting an operating load resistance during operation of the recovery lint compression mechanism. In the cloth drying apparatus according to claim 1,
The air passage is provided with an air blowing means at least in a part thereof.
A cloth drying device characterized in that the filter provided with the lint cleaning mechanism is arranged close to the windward side of the blower means. In the cloth drying device according to claim 5.
A bent portion is provided on the windward side of the filter in the air passage.
A cloth drying device characterized in that the shielding wall and the lint accumulation box are arranged on the side of the bent portion opposite to the filter. In the cloth drying apparatus according to claim 1,
The shielding wall opening / closing mechanism or the shielding wall opening / closing control means for opening / closing the shielding wall is provided.
The shielding wall is held at a position that shields between the air passage and the lint accumulation box when the drying air is blown, and the lint collected by the lint cleaning mechanism or the lint cleaning mechanism is used as described above. A cloth drying device that is opened by the shielding wall opening / closing mechanism or the shielding wall opening / closing control means when the lint transport mechanism that conveys the lint to the lint accumulation box is operated. In the cloth drying apparatus according to claim 1,
The shielding wall is integrally configured with the lint cleaning mechanism or the lint transport mechanism that transports the lint collected by the lint cleaning mechanism to the lint accumulation box, and is used for the operation of the lint cleaning mechanism or the lint transport mechanism. A cloth drying device characterized by operating together. In the cloth drying apparatus according to claim 1,
A shield wall lock mechanism that holds the shield wall opening / closing mechanism in a closed state is provided, and
A drying process mode for drying the cloth, a cleaning process mode for cleaning the filter with the lint cleaning mechanism and collecting lint adhering to the filter in the lint accumulation box, and accumulating in the lint accumulation box. It has at least three modes, a disposal process mode for disposing of lint.
A cloth drying device characterized in that the shielding wall opening / closing mechanism is held in a closed state by the shielding wall locking mechanism in a mode other than the cleaning process mode. In the cloth drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
A cloth drying device characterized in that it is configured as a washing / drying device having a washing function and a drying function for cloth.

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