JPH08318098A - Clothing drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make it possible to sterilize clothing without the possibility of damaging clothing and adversely affecting the human body. CONSTITUTION: A sterilizing filter 36 is composed of a doughnut disk-shaped filter member 36a and a ring 36b which is mounted in the central aperture of the filter material and constitutes the inner peripheral part of the filter. The filter material 36a is a non-woven fabric formed by blending a prescribed amt. of the processed fibers produced by a post-finishing method of impregnating acrylic fibers with a copper compd., then forming and fixing copper sulfide thereto by a chemical treatment with another fibers. The filter material has sterilization performance like the sterilizability of copper metals.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a clothes dryer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for sterilizing clothes to be dried in a clothes dryer, for example, JP-B-5-50959.
There is one which raises the temperature in the drying chamber to a high temperature as shown in Japanese Patent Publication (D06F58 / 28).

Further, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-49698 (D06F58 / 04) and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-91595 (D
There is also one that supplies ozone such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 06F58 / 02).

[0004]

However, in the case where the temperature inside the drying chamber is high, there is a problem that the clothes are easily damaged if the temperature is too high in order to enhance the sterilization effect.

Further, in the case of using ozone, if the ozone concentration becomes too high, it becomes harmful to the human body.
Since a mechanism for controlling the ozone concentration and a device for decomposing ozone must be provided, there are problems that the structure becomes complicated and the cost becomes high.

[0006] The present invention relates to an improvement of a clothes dryer, which solves such problems, and damages clothes,
The purpose is to sterilize clothes without the possibility of adversely affecting the human body.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a drying chamber for accommodating clothes, an intake port for sucking air into the drying chamber, an exhaust port for exhausting air from the drying chamber, the intake port and the drying chamber. A circulation air passage that connects an exhaust port, a circulation fan that circulates dry air in the circulation passage that is formed by the drying chamber and the circulation air passage, and a drying air that is discharged from the drying chamber is cooled and dried. In a clothes dryer provided with a dehumidifier for condensing water in the wind and a heater for heating the dry air cooled by the condenser, the dry air provided in the circulation passage and allowing the dry air touching the clothes to pass therethrough. And a sterilizing filter for killing various bacteria contained in the dry air.

Further, in the above-mentioned structure of the present invention, the sterilizing filter is arranged in front of the dehumidifier.

Further, in the above-mentioned structure of the present invention, a collecting filter for collecting foreign matters such as dust and thread waste in the dry air is provided before the sterilizing filter.

[0010]

The dry air supplied to the drying chamber hits the clothes and exchanges heat with the clothes to evaporate the moisture. At this time, various bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia attached to the clothes are taken into the dry air. Dry air containing various bacteria passes through a sterilizing filter. The sterilizing filter is made of a filter material made of fibers in which a sterilizing metal such as silver, copper or zinc is adsorbed to the fibers, and the sterilizing effect of the sterilizing filter kills bacteria in the dry air. Therefore, when the dry air is again applied to the clothes, the various bacteria in the dry air are considerably dead, so that the number of other bacteria attached to the clothes again decreases. In this way, various bacteria adhering to the clothes are removed while the dry air is circulating, and as a result, various bacteria adhering to the clothes are reduced.

Further, the sterilization filter is provided at a position before the dehumidifier, for example, in the vicinity of the exhaust port, and sterilizes in dry air before passing through the dehumidifier.
After dehumidification, the inside of the circulation air duct has the highest relative humidity and is extremely damp. This is because the moisture in the dry air is dehumidified to some extent by the dehumidification and the absolute humidity is lowered, but the temperature of the dry air is also lowered, and as a result, the relative humidity is increased. For this reason, the environment inside the circulation air passage after dehumidification is suitable for the propagation of various bacteria, and there is a risk that various bacteria in the dry wind adhere to the circulation air passage and proliferate. But here
Since sterilization is performed before dehumidification, it is difficult for bacteria to grow in the circulation air passage after dehumidification.

Further, a recovery filter is provided before the sterilization filter, and foreign matter such as thread waste is removed from the dry air by the recovery filter before reaching the sterilization filter.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 2 denotes a housing thereof, which is a metal machine frame 3 having front and rear surfaces opened, and a resin front plate 4 which covers the front surface of the machine frame 3.
And a metal rear plate 5 that covers the rear surface of the machine frame 3.
The front plate 4 is provided with a clothing inlet 6.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a horizontal drum provided in the housing 2 and having an opening on the front surface, and a rear portion thereof is rotatably supported by a support shaft 8. A baffle 7a is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 7 to agitate the clothes inside by the rotation of the drum 7. Reference numeral 11 denotes a metal support plate which is provided on the back side of the front plate 4 and outside the input port 6, and which supports the front opening edge of the drum 7. The drum 7 and the support plate 1
1 constitutes the drying chamber of the present invention for accommodating clothes. An exhaust port 9 for exhausting air from the drying chamber is provided at the center of the rear surface of the drum 7, and an intake port 12 for intake of air into the drying chamber is provided under the support plate 11.

A filter device 10 is provided from the front so as to cover the exhaust port 9 and includes a sterilizing filter.
The filter device 10 will be described in detail later.

Reference numeral 13 is a duct for introducing dry air, which is attached to the inlet side of the intake port 12 of the support plate 11, and a heater 14 is arranged in this duct.

Reference numeral 15 is a door for opening and closing the inlet 6, which is rotatably supported at the upper and lower ends on the left side of the clothes dryer 1 when viewed from the front, and is opened to the left.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a fan casing provided at the rear of the drum 7 so as to face the exhaust port 9, and 17
Is a heat exchange type double-sided fan made of synthetic resin, which is fixed in the fan casing 16 coaxially with the drum 7 by the support shaft 8. Blades are integrally formed on both the front and back surfaces of the double-sided fan 17 in a radial pattern. The double-sided fan 17 functions as the circulation fan and the dehumidifier of the present invention.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a partition plate made of synthetic resin, which is provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the double-sided fan 17, and the inner peripheral portion thereof faces the outer peripheral portion of the double-sided fan 17. This partition 1
8 divides the inside of the fan casing 16 into a drying air passage 19 and a cooling air passage 20 together with the double-sided fan 17. The double-sided fan 17 and the partition plate 18 are labyrinth-coupled, so that the drying air passage 19 and the cooling air passage 20 are sealed.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a communication port provided in the fan casing 16 for connecting the exhaust port 9 and the dry air passage 19 to each other, and 22 surely allows the dry air discharged from the exhaust port 9 to the communication port 21. It is an annular seal member provided to guide the Reference numeral 23 is an inlet provided at the center of the rear plate 5 for introducing outside air into the cooling air passage 20, and 24 is an outlet provided at the bottom surface of the machine frame 3 for leading out the introduced outside air. Is.

Reference numeral 25 is a circulation duct that connects the drying air passage 19 and the introduction duct 13, and an outlet 26 is provided at the lowest position. Dry air duct 19 and circulation duct 25
The circulation duct of the present invention is constituted by the and the introduction duct 13.

Reference numeral 27 denotes an induction motor, which is a drum pulley 2
8 and a drum belt 29, the drum 7 is connected to the drum 7, and a fan pulley 30 and a fan belt 31 are connected to a pulley 32 of the double-sided fan 17. 33 is an idler pulley, and the drum belt 2
By giving tension to 9, the slip of the drum belt 29 is prevented.

Thus, the motor 2 is heated and dried.
When the drum 7 rotates, the drum 7 rotates at low speed and the double-sided fan 17 rotates at high speed. The dry air generated by the rotation of the double-sided fan 17 and heated by the heater 14 circulates through the dry air passage 19, the circulation duct 25, the introduction duct 13 and the drum 7 to exchange heat with the clothes in the drum 7. To do. At the same time, the outside air is introduced into the cooling air passage 20 by the rotation of the double-sided fan 17,
Cool yourself. Then, heat is exchanged in the drum 7, and the dry air that has absorbed the water from the clothes contacts the double-sided fan 17 and is cooled, and the water in the dry air is condensed. The condensed water flows down through the drying air passage 19 and is discharged from the discharge port 26.

Now, the structure of the filter device, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the filter device 10, the filter cover 34, the lint filter 35, and the
It is composed of a sterilization filter 36.

The filter cover 34 has a ventilation port 34d.
The front cover 34a has a large number of discs, a peripheral wall 34c formed on the periphery of the front cover 34a, and a cylindrical first boss 34b projecting from the center of the front cover 34a. There is. The filter cover 34 has the front cover 34a, the peripheral wall 34c, and the first boss 34b integrally formed of polypropylene resin.

The lint filter 35 is made of heat-resistant polyester resin into a disk shape and has a mesh of 100 to 250 mesh. A cylindrical second boss 35b is formed at the center of the lint filter 35 so as to project. The inner diameter of the second boss 35b is larger than the outer diameter of the first boss 34b. Further, a pair of opposing engagement pins 35c, 35c and a pair of opposing engagement pieces 35d, 35d are projectingly formed around the second boss 35b. The lint filter 35 corresponds to the recovery filter of the present invention.

The sterilizing filter 36 is composed of a donut disk-shaped filter material 36a and a ring 36b which is attached to the central opening of the filter material 36a and constitutes the inner peripheral portion of the filter.

The filter material 36a is formed by mixing a predetermined amount of processed fibers produced by a post-processing method of forming and adhering copper sulfide by a chemical treatment after impregnating an acrylic fiber with a copper compound, in a predetermined amount. It is a non-woven fabric. The filter material 36a has the same sterilization performance as copper metal has. It also has deodorizing performance.

FIG. 3 shows the test results of the sterilization performance of the filter material 36a tested.

A shake flask method is used as a test method. In this method, a suspension of test bacteria (the number of bacteria is 1 billion or more / 1 ml) is added to the test cloth, and the test cloth is shaken under predetermined conditions so that the bacteria touch the test cloth or the inside of the test cloth. Try to pass through. Then, the viable cell count after shaking and the viable cell count before shaking are measured, and the reduction rate (bacterial reduction rate) of the viable cell count after shaking with respect to the viable cell count before shaking is determined.

The sterilization rate is calculated by the following equation: Sterilization rate (%) = (B
-A) / B × 100 (A: 1 m in the flask after shaking)
The number of bacteria per liter, B: the number of bacteria per 1 ml in the flask before shaking).

In this test, the sterilization rate was determined under the conditions of test bacterium: Klebsiella pneumoniae, shaking condition: wrist action 330 rpm × 1 hour, and test cloth mass: 0.75 g.

From this test result, when at least 10 to 100% of the above-mentioned processed fibers are mixed, the filter material 3
It is clearly understood that the sterilization effect is exhibited when the bacteria pass through 6a. In this embodiment, in consideration of cost and life, a filter material containing 20% of processed fibers is used.

The ring 36b is made of polypropylene resin and has engagement holes 36c and 36c into which the engagement pins 35b and 35b are fitted, and notches 36d and 36d into which the engagement pieces 35c and 35c are fitted. Has been done. The inner diameter of the ring 36b is larger than the outer diameter of the second boss 35b.

Thus, the first part of the filter cover 34 is
The second boss 35b of the lint filter 35 is attached to the boss 34b.
And the ring 36b of the sterilizing filter 36 is fitted to the second boss 35b, whereby the three members are connected and the filter device 10 is assembled. By fitting the first boss 34b of the filter cover 34 into the mounting boss 7b provided at the center of the rear surface of the drum 7, the filter device 10 is mounted on the rear surface of the drum 7 and covers the exhaust port 9.

Next, the operation based on the above configuration will be described. During the drying operation, the clothes in the rotating drum 7 are stirred up by the baffle 7a. At the same time, the dry air heated by the heater 14 is introduced into the drum 7,
Applied to clothing. The heat exchange between the clothes and the dry air causes the water in the clothes to evaporate. At this time, various bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia attached to the clothes are taken into the dry air.

When the dry air containing miscellaneous bacteria is discharged from the exhaust port 9, the filter device 10 equipped with the sterilizing filter 36 is provided.
Pass through. When passing through the sterilization filter 36,
Due to the sterilization effect of the sterilization filter 36, various bacteria in the dry air are killed. Further, the sterilizing filter 36 also has a deodorizing performance, and deodorizing in dry air is also performed at the same time.

After that, the dry air is dehumidified by the double-sided fan 17 and reheated by the heater 14. At this time, the miscellaneous bacteria are also killed by the heating of the heater 14, and the miscellaneous bacteria remaining after passing through the sterilizing filter 36 are also killed here. Then, when the dry air is again applied to the clothes, the various bacteria in the dry air are considerably dead, so that the number of other bacteria attached to the clothes again decreases. In this way, various bacteria adhering to the clothes are removed while the dry air is circulating, and as a result, various bacteria adhering to the clothes are reduced.

Foreign substances such as lint and dust from clothes are collected by the lint filter 35 before reaching the sterilization filter 36, which prevents the sterilization filter 36 from being clogged. Therefore, the sterilization effect can be maintained for a long time. However, if the sterilization filter 36 is contaminated by various bacteria and small debris that cannot be collected by the lint filter 35, the sterilization ability will eventually decline. At this time, the sterilization ability can be restored by removing the sterilization filter 36 and cleaning with a vacuum cleaner or the like, or washing.

The sterilizing filter of the embodiment of the present invention may be used in combination with a filter for sterilizing the drying chamber at a high temperature or a filter for sterilizing with ozone. With such a combination,
The sterilization effect can be exhibited even if the temperature is not too high, and the sterilization effect can be exhibited even if the ozone concentration is not too high.

As described above, according to the structure of the clothes dryer of the embodiment of the present invention, the sterilization filter kills the bacteria in the dry air to sterilize the clothes. It is possible to sterilize clothes without adversely affecting.

Further, since the deodorization is performed by the sterilization filter, the odor attached to the clothes can be removed.

Further, the sterilization filter is provided at the position of the exhaust port, which is a position before the double-sided fan which is a dehumidifier, and sterilizes in dry air before passing through the double-sided fan. . After dehumidification, the inside of the circulation air duct has the highest relative humidity and is extremely damp. This is because the moisture in the dry air is dehumidified to some extent by the dehumidification and the absolute humidity is lowered, but the temperature of the dry air is also lowered, and as a result, the relative humidity is increased. For this reason, the environment inside the circulation air passage after dehumidification is suitable for the propagation of various bacteria, and there is a risk that various bacteria in the dry wind adhere to the circulation air passage and proliferate.
However, here, since sterilization is performed before dehumidification, it becomes difficult for miscellaneous bacteria to grow in the circulation air passage after dehumidification, and generation of off-flavor can be suppressed.

The sterilizing filter of the present invention is not limited to the one in the above-mentioned embodiment, and any sterilizing effect can be obtained as long as the drying air passes through the filter to kill the various bacteria during drying. Well, for example, a filter material made of fibers obtained by adsorbing a metal having a sterilizing effect such as silver or zinc onto the fibers may be used.

[0047]

According to the constitution of claim 1 of the clothes dryer of the present invention, the sterilization filter kills the various bacteria in the dry air to sterilize the clothes, so that the clothes are damaged. It is possible to sterilize clothes without the risk of adversely affecting the human body.

Further, according to the structure of claim 2,
Since the sterilization filter is installed in front of the dehumidifier and sterilizes in the dry air before passing through the dehumidifier, the circulation after dehumidification is an environment suitable for propagation of various bacteria. Miscellaneous bacteria are less likely to grow in the air passage, and the generation of offensive odor can be suppressed.

Further, according to the structure of claim 3,
Since the recovery filter is provided before the sterilization filter, it is possible to prevent the sterilization filter from being clogged with foreign matter such as lint, and it is possible to maintain the sterilization effect for a long time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an outline of a clothes dryer which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the filter device showing the detailed structure of the filter device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a result of a sterilization performance test of the filter material of the sterilizing filter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Drum (Drying Room) 9 Exhaust Port 11 Support Plate (Drying Room) 12 Intake Port 13 Inlet Duct (Circulation Air Path) 14 Heater 17 Double-sided Fan (Circulation Fan, Dehumidifier) 19 Dry Air Path (Circulation Air Path) 25 Circulation Duct (circulation air passage) 35 Lint filter (collection filter) 36 Sterilization filter

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Kuroda 2-5-5 Keihan Hon-dori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kiyokazu Fujikawa 2-chome, Keihan-hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Aoki 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Prefecture Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tamotsu Kawamura 2 Keihan-hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Prefecture 5-5, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A drying chamber for accommodating clothes, an intake port for sucking air into the drying chamber, an exhaust port for exhausting air from the drying chamber, and a circulation air passage connecting the intake port and the exhaust port. And a circulation fan that circulates the dry air in the circulation path formed by the drying chamber and the circulation air path, and cools the dry air discharged from the drying room to condense the moisture in the dry air. In a clothes dryer provided with a dehumidifier and a heater for heating the dry air cooled by the dehumidifier, the clothes are provided in the circulation path, and the dry air touching the clothes is passed through to be contained in the dry air. And a sterilizing filter for killing various germs. 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization filter is arranged in front of the dehumidifier. 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 2, further comprising a collection filter for collecting foreign matters such as dust and lint in dry air before the sterilization filter.