JPH08196796A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To effectively dehumidify the high temperature and high humidity air in the drum using a simple structure. CONSTITUTION: The high temperature and high humidity air inside the drum 3 is sucked by the drying fan 14. When the high temperature and high humidity air passes through the area adjacent to the heat pipe 20, its heat is absorbed by the pipe on the high temperature side and the heat thus absorbed is released on the low temperature side. Thus, the high temperature and high humidity air is dehumidified by the heat exchange process between the high temperature and high humidity air and outdoor cold air.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drum type clothes dryer having a function of dehumidifying hot and humid air from inside a drum.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a drum type clothes dryer, high-temperature air heated by an electric heater or gas is supplied into the drum while rotating the drum containing the clothes to be dried to dry the clothes. . Then, the air that has become hot and humid by drying the clothes and is discharged from the inside of the drum is discharged to the outside of the machine as it is, or is heat-exchanged with the low temperature air in the outside air to be dehumidified by air, and then supplied to the inside of the drum again. ing.

Here, in order to accelerate the drying of clothes, generally, the capacity of an electric heater or the like may be increased, or the volume of high temperature air supplied into the drum may be increased.
However, increasing the capacity of the electric heater is
It is not preferable in terms of power consumption or power capacity of home wiring. Further, if the air volume of the hot air is simply increased, the temperature of the air supplied to the drum will decrease with the increase of the air volume when a nichrome wire heater is used as the electric heater, and it will not contribute much to the acceleration of drying. In the case of using the PTC heater, there is a problem that the power consumption increases as the air volume increases.

Therefore, in order to accelerate the drying of the clothes and shorten the drying time without increasing the capacity of the electric heater or the air volume of the hot air, the hot and humid air from the drum is efficiently dehumidified and circulated. There is a proposal to let them do it. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-19198 discloses a water-cooled clothes dryer which uses cooling water (tap water) to dehumidify and cool high-temperature and high-humidity air from the inside of the drum and supply it again into the drum. There is. In addition, JP-A-2-3022
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 99, a clothes drier for dehumidifying the hot and humid air by providing a resin double-blade fan behind the drum and exchanging heat between the hot and humid air from inside the drum through the resin double-blade fan. Is disclosed. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-79971 discloses a clothes dryer that dehumidifies hot and humid air from the inside of a drum by a heat pump mechanism.

[0005]

In the conventional water-cooled clothes dryer, a dedicated tap, a hose for extending and supplying tap water to the clothes dryer, and a water supply valve for controlling the amount of water supply are required. However, there are problems such as high cost and limited installation place.

Further, in a clothes dryer provided with a resin-made double-blade fan, a large amount of air of about 2 m ³ / min is usually exchanged between both sides of the resin-made double-blade fan having a low thermal conductivity, so that 50-60% is required. There was a problem that it showed only a low dehumidification rate. Further, in the clothes dryer provided with the heat pump mechanism, the structure is large, which hinders downsizing of the device, and is expensive in cost.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a clothes dryer having a simple structure and capable of efficiently dehumidifying hot and humid air from the inside of a drum.

[0008]

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the means for solving the problems according to the present invention is to provide a drum in a clothes dryer for supplying high temperature air into the drum 3 for storing the clothes S to dry the clothes S. A heat pipe 20 that is in contact with the hot and humid air from inside 3 and is in contact with the low temperature fluid is provided.

Further, the volume of the heat pipe 20 on the low temperature side is made larger than the volume of the high temperature side, the fins 22 are provided on the outer surface of the heat pipe 20, and a means for preventing water droplets from adhering to the fins 22 is provided. It is provided.

Further, a cooling fan 30 for cooling the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 is provided, and the cooling fan 30 is driven by the drive motor 10 of the drying fan 14.

[0011]

In the above means for solving the problem, the hot and humid air in the drum 3 is discharged by the drying fan 14. When the hot and humid air passes near the heat pipe 20, heat is taken from the hot and humid air on the high temperature side of the heat pipe 20 and is radiated on the low temperature side, whereby heat exchange is performed between the hot and humid air and the low temperature fluid. .

Here, the volume on the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 is made larger than that on the high temperature side, the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 is cooled by the cooling fan 30, and the fins 22 are formed on the outer surface of the heat pipe 20. If water drops are not attached, the heat exchange efficiency between the high temperature and high humidity air and the low temperature fluid by the heat pipe 20 is further enhanced, the high temperature and high humidity air can be rapidly cooled, and the condensation of the moisture contained in the high temperature and high humidity air is promoted. The dehumidification performance is improved.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention is, as shown in FIG. 1, a box-shaped dryer main body 1 and clothes supported on the dryer main body 1 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis 2. It is provided with a drum 3 that stores S, a drive unit 4 that rotates the drum 3, and an air circulation unit 5 that circulates the air discharged from the drum 3 and returns it to the drum 3.

An opening 1a for putting in clothes is formed in the center of the front surface of the dryer body 1, and an opening / closing door 6 for opening / closing the opening 1a is arranged. On the rear surface of the dryer body 1, a plurality of small holes 1b for taking in outside air (low temperature air) into the dryer body 1 are formed.

The drum 3 has a cylindrical shape, and a central opening 3a is formed at the center of the front surface. The central opening 3a is communicated with the opening 1a of the dryer main body 1 through a cylindrical connecting body 7 fixed to the periphery of the opening 1a of the dryer main body 1, and the central opening of the connecting body 7 and the drum 3 is connected. The peripheral edge of 3a is connected via a seal bearing 8. An air inlet 7 a for blowing air into the drum 3 is formed in the lower part of the connecting body 7. Further, an air outlet 3b is formed around the horizontal axis 2 in the center of the rear surface of the drum 3, and behind the air outlet 3b, a fine yarn mixed with air from the inside of the drum 3 and discharged. A filter 9 for collecting dust and the like is attached. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3c is a baffle formed in the drum 3 so as to project therefrom.

The drive unit 4 includes a drive motor 10 fixed to the upper portion of the dryer main body 1, a first pulley 11 attached to one end of a motor shaft 10a of the drive motor 10,
The drive transmission belt 12 is wound around the first pulley 11 and the outer peripheral portion of the drum 3. And
The rotation speed of the drum 3 is set to about 50-60 rpm.

The air circulation unit 5 has a circulation path 13 having one end communicating with the air outlet 3b of the drum 3 and the other end communicating with the air inlet 7a, and air flowing from one end to the other end of the circulation passage 13. And a drying fan 14 that forms a flow.
The circulation path 13 is formed facing the air outlet 3b of the drum 3 and has a fan chamber 13a in which a drying fan 14 is housed.
A cooling path 13b horizontally arranged from above the fan chamber 13a to above the fan chamber 13a, and an up / down path 13c vertically arranged along the rear surface of the drum 3 from the cooling path 13b. , A horizontal path 13d extending horizontally from the lower part of the upper and lower path 13c to the air inflow port 7a under the drum 3 and at the end of the horizontal path 13d,
An electric heater (PTC heater) 15 of about 1 kW for heating the air sent into the drum 3 is installed. Also,
The drying fan 14 is rotationally driven by the drive motor 10 of the drive unit 4 via a drive transmission mechanism 16 described later.

On the upper surface of the cooling passage 13b, outside air (hereinafter, referred to as a low temperature fluid) which is in contact with the hot and humid air from the inside of the drum 3 and flows into the dryer main body 1 through the small holes 1b of the dryer main body 1 A plurality of metal (copper or aluminum) heat pipes 20 in contact with low-temperature air are vertically held through. The heat pipe 20 is filled with a working fluid 21 such as ammonia or methanol. The working fluid 21 evaporates and rises while taking heat from the hot and humid air from the inside of the drum 3, and moves to the low temperature side. The cycle is repeated in which heat is condensed while condensing, falls due to gravity, and is accumulated again as a liquid on the high temperature side, that is, the bottom of the heat pipe 20. Therefore, the heat pipe 20 enables heat exchange between the hot and humid air and the cold air.

Further, in order to accelerate the cooling rate of the heat pipe 20 and actively evaporate and condense the working fluid 21, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 (the side in contact with the low temperature air). The heat pipe 20 is attached so that the volume of () is larger than the volume of the high temperature side (the side in contact with the hot and humid air). In this embodiment, the diameter is 15.
36 heat pipes 20 having a length of 88 mm and a length of 300 mm are used, and the ratio of the volume on the high temperature side to the volume on the low temperature side is set to 3: 7.

Further, a plurality of metal fins 22 are attached to the outer periphery of the heat pipe 20 for increasing the contact area with the hot and humid air and the cold air. The fins 22 attached to the high temperature side of the heat pipe 20 are tilted by 20 degrees or more from the horizontal state, and the surface thereof is subjected to water repellent treatment. As a result, when the water contained in the hot and humid air is condensed and becomes water drops and adheres to the surfaces of the fins 22, the water drops can be naturally dropped from the fins 22 to prevent the water drops from adhering to the fins 22. . Therefore, the inclination of the fins 22 and the water-repellent finish constitute a water drop adhesion preventing unit that prevents water drops from adhering to the fins 22.

Then, in order to discharge the water droplets generated by the condensation of the water contained in the hot and humid air to the outside of the dryer main body 1, there is a saucer 25 arranged below the fins 22 and having a receptacle larger than the fins 22. A drainage hose 26 connected to the bottom of the tray 25 and arranged in the vertical path 13c of the circulation path 13 and a drainage pipe 27 branching from the horizontal path 13d of the circulation path 13 and communicating with the outside of the dryer main body 1 are provided. Has been.

Further, a cooling fan 30 for forcibly cooling the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 is provided. The cooling fan 30 is rotatably arranged above the cooling path 13b of the circulation path 13 in the dryer main body 1 so as to face the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20. Then, the cooling fan 30 is rotationally driven by the drive motor 10 together with the drying fan 14 via the drive transmission mechanism 16. The drive transmission mechanism 16 is the motor shaft 1 of the drive motor 10.
0a, the second pulley 31 attached to the other end of the cooling fan 30, the cooling fan pulley 32 attached to the rotating shaft 30a of the cooling fan 30, and the drying fan pulley attached to the rotating shaft 14a of the drying fan 14. 33 and each pulley 3
Drive transmission belt 34 wound around 1, 32, 33
Consists of It is also possible to use a two-stage cooling fan pulley 32 and to wind the belt around the second pulley 31, the cooling fan pulley 32, and the cooling fan pulley 32 and the drying fan pulley 33.

In the above structure, after the clothes S are put into the drum 3, the drive motor 10 is driven to rotate the drum 3, the drying fan 14 and the cooling fan 30. Then, the high-temperature air heated by the electric heater 15 flows into the drum 3 from the air inlet 7a of the drum 3, and the clothes S in the drum 3 are dried. At this time, the air in the drum 3 removes moisture contained in the clothes S to become hot and humid, and the hot and humid air is about 2 m ³ / min by the drying fan 14 from the air outlet 3b of the drum 3 to the circulation path 13. It is sucked into the fan chamber 13a. Then, the hot and humid air flowing from the fan chamber 13a into the cooling passage 13b is heated by the heat pipe 2
When it passes near 0, the working fluid 21 of the heat pipe 20
Repeats the above-described cycle of evaporation and condensation to perform heat exchange between hot and humid air and cold air.

Here, the volume of the heat pipe 20 on the low temperature side is larger than the volume of the heat pipe 20 on the high temperature side, and the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 is cooled by the cooling fan 30. Fin 2 of pipe 20
2 increases the contact area between the heat pipe 20 and the hot and humid air and the low temperature air.
The working fluid 21 rapidly evaporates on the high temperature side of 0, and the working fluid 21 quickly condenses on the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20, increasing the heat exchange efficiency between the hot and humid air and the low temperature air by the heat pipe 20, and thereby the high temperature. The humid air is cooled rapidly and water is easily condensed, so that the hot and humid air can be efficiently dehumidified.

After heat exchange, water contained in the fins 22 of the heat pipe 20 due to condensation of water contained in the hot and humid air flows along the inclination of the fins 22 and drops into the tray 25, and the drain hose 26 is discharged. It reaches the horizontal path 13d of the circulation path 13 and is discharged to the outside of the dryer main body 1 from the drain pipe 27.

The air dehumidified and cooled by the heat pipe 20 passes through the vertical path 13c and the horizontal path 13d of the circulation path 13 and flows into the vertical path 13c and the horizontal path 13d from the small hole 1b of the dryer body 1. It is further cooled by the ambient air. At this time, the water that has not been condensed in the vicinity of the heat pipe 20 is condensed into water drops, which are discharged from the drain pipe 27 together with the water drops from the drain hose 26. Then, the air that has been air-cooled and dehumidified to be in a low-temperature dry state is heated again by the electric heater 15, and is blown into the drum 3 from the air inflow passage 7a of the drum 3 to dry the clothes S.

According to an experiment, for example, the drying fan 14 sucks hot and humid air at 60 ° C. and 80% RH into the circulation path 13 at 3 m ³ / min, and the cooling fan 30 draws 20
When low temperature air of 50 ° C and 50% RH is blown at 4 m ³ / min,
About 18 KWh of heat is transferred, and hot and humid air is about 6 ° C.
About 50 cc of condensed water is obtained per hour. Furthermore, since the air dehumidified and cooled by the heat pipe 20 is air-cooled to around 40 ° C. before reaching the vicinity of the drain pipe 27, about 200 cc of condensed water can be obtained per hour. When hot and humid air at 60 ° C. and 80% RH is simply air-cooled without using the heat pipe 20, it becomes around 45 ° C., and about 180 cc of condensed water is obtained per hour, whereas Since the humidity is low and the amount of dehumidified water is high, 2 kg of clothes S can be simply cooled with air.
The drying time of about 90 minutes required for drying can be reduced by about 20%.

As described above, the metal heat pipe 20 heat-exchanges the high-temperature and high-humidity air from the inside of the drum 3 with the low-temperature air to dehumidify and cool the high-temperature and high-humidity air, and a structure for improving the dehumidification performance is provided. It can be simplified, downsizing and cost reduction can be achieved, and power consumption can be reduced. Moreover, since the hot and humid air from the inside of the drum 3 is efficiently dehumidified and supplied again as the hot dry air into the drum 3, the drying time of the clothes S can be shortened.

Since the volume of the heat pipe 20 on the low temperature side is larger than that on the high temperature side, the cooling rate of the heat pipe 20 is increased to actively evaporate and condense the working fluid 21. The heat exchange efficiency between the hot and humid air and the low temperature air by the heat pipe 20 can be increased.
Therefore, the high-temperature and high-humidity air can be rapidly cooled, the condensation of the moisture contained in the high-temperature and high-humidity air can be promoted, and the dehumidification performance can be further improved.

Further, since the heat pipe 20 is provided with the metal fins 22 for increasing the contact area with the ambient air, the residence time of the hot and humid air and the cold air near the heat pipe 20 is long. Therefore, the heat exchange efficiency between the hot and humid air and the cold air can be further enhanced. Moreover, since the fins 22 are arranged so as to be inclined and the surface thereof is subjected to a water repellent treatment, when water contained in the hot and humid air is condensed to form water drops and adheres to the surface of the fins 22, the water drops Can be naturally dropped from the fins 22, and a drop in heat exchange efficiency due to water droplets attached to the fins 22 can be prevented. Further, since the water droplets that have dropped from the fins 22 are discharged to the outside of the machine through the tray 25 and the drain hose 26, the water droplets do not adhere and remain in the circulation path 13 and the heat exchange efficiency in the circulation path 13 is improved. It can prevent the deterioration.

Furthermore, since the cooling fan 30 is driven by the drive motor 10 that drives the drying fan 14, a dedicated motor for driving the cooling fan 30 is not required, and the size and cost are reduced. Is possible.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above embodiment within the scope of the present invention. For example, if the heat pipe 20 is in contact with the hot and humid air from the inside of the drum 3 and is in contact with the low temperature air, for example, the upper and lower passages 13c
Alternatively, it may be arranged on the horizontal path 13d. Further, the clothes dryer of the present invention is not limited to a type that dehumidifies and circulates the hot and humid air from the inside of the drum 3, but a type that dehumidifies the hot and humid air from inside the drum 3 and discharges it to the outside of the machine. It may be one. Further, instead of cooling the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 with low temperature air, a structure for supplying condensed water when the high temperature and high humidity air is cooled to the low temperature side of the heat pipe 20 for cooling or a structure using other cooling water May be

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
According to the invention of claim 1, the heat pipe exchanges heat between the high temperature and high humidity air and the low temperature fluid to dehumidify and cool the high temperature and high humidity air, and the structure for improving the dehumidification performance and shortening the drying time is simple. Therefore, the size and cost can be reduced, and the power consumption can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the volume of the heat pipe on the low temperature side is larger than the volume of the heat pipe on the high temperature side, the cooling rate of the working fluid in the heat pipe is increased, and the high temperature and high humidity air and the low temperature are reduced. The efficiency of heat exchange with the fluid can be increased. Therefore, the high-temperature and high-humidity air can be rapidly cooled, the condensation of the moisture contained in the high-temperature and high-humidity air can be promoted, and the dehumidification performance can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the fins are provided on the outer surface of the heat pipe, the residence time of the hot and humid air and the cold fluid near the heat pipe becomes long, and the hot and humid air and the cold fluid are separated from each other. The heat exchange efficiency can be further enhanced. Moreover, since water droplets are prevented from adhering to the surfaces of the fins when the water contained in the hot and humid air is condensed, it is possible to prevent a decrease in heat exchange efficiency due to the water droplets adhering to the fins.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the cooling fan is driven by the driving motor of the drying fan, a dedicated motor for driving the cooling fan is not required, and the size and cost can be reduced. It will be possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a heat pipe

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Drum 10 Drive Motor 14 Drying Fan 20 Heat Pipe 22 Fins 30 Cooling Fan

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A clothes dryer for supplying high temperature air into a drum for storing clothes to dry the clothes, wherein a heat pipe which is in contact with the hot and humid air from the drum and is in contact with a low temperature fluid is provided. A clothes dryer characterized by. 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the heat pipe on the low temperature side is larger than the volume of the heat pipe on the high temperature side. 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein fins are provided on the outer surface of the heat pipe, and the fins are provided with water droplet adhesion preventing means for preventing adhesion of water droplets. 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling fan for cooling the low temperature side of the heat pipe, the cooling fan being driven by a drive motor of the drying fan. .