JPH11207097A - Closing housing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize power saving by plurally providing independent clothing housing rooms so as to respectively separately arrange a condenser, an evaporator, a blowing means and a control valve within each housing room and distribute-supplying coolant supplied from one compressor provided outside of the housing rooms for the side of the respective housing rooms on the other hand. SOLUTION: In the clothing housing rooms 2 (2a to 2d), hot air 13 heated by the hot coolant of the condenser 6 flows toward the lower sides of the rooms 2 to heat and dry the clothing hung on a hanger. Hot air of a little lowered temperature and a high humidity, which is generated by this drying, flows up to the evaporator 7 to be cooled by a cold coolant here to make hot air of a high humidity and a low temperature to be heated by the condenser 6 again and is circulated in the same manner subsequently. At this time, the condenser 6, the evaporator 7, an expansion valve 9, etc., are arranged each of the rooms 2 but on the other hand the compressor 15 is arranged by only one and distribute-supplies coolant compressed here according to the operating situation of each room 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power-saving drying method for a clothes storage having a drying function, and more particularly, to a locker-type clothes storage which is often placed in a change room such as a golf course or a sauna bath. The present invention relates to a clothes storage for quickly drying stored clothes (change clothes) with low power consumption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-156896 discloses a conventional locker-type clothes dryer that reduces the cost of electricity and saves power.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above prior art is disclosed in
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-156896, a refrigeration cycle (heat pump) is used instead of an electric heater as a heat source of a locker type clothes dryer.
By using this, power consumption is reduced. However, in the case where the number of the locker type clothes dryers is large in the same place, it is disadvantageous in terms of cost and further downsizing is difficult if all the components of the refrigeration cycle are provided separately and independently for each dryer.

An object of the present invention is to share a refrigeration cycle part especially in a clothes dryer having a plurality of clothes drying rooms juxtaposed or a clothes storage with a drying function having a plurality of clothes storage rooms juxtaposed. In this case, further power saving, cost reduction, and compactness are to be achieved.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigeration cycle comprising a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, an air blower, a control valve, and the like. By continuously circulating through the inside, the clothes are dried with the hot air heated by the condenser, the dried hot air is cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator, and then heated and circulated again by the condenser. A clothes storage (or clothes dryer) having a drying function using a refrigerating cycle, wherein the warm air is passed through a space in the clothes in a clothes storage room constituting the clothes storage and around the clothes. In a clothes storage (or clothes dryer) having a ventilation type drying method of drying the clothes, a plurality of the clothes storage rooms are independently provided, and the condenser and the evaporator are provided in each of the storage rooms. Blowing means and control valve Although that is separately disposed, the refrigerant supplied from the compressor single provided in the housing outside was controlled so as to be distributed in accordance with the operating condition of the plurality of the storage room.

In particular, in the case where the clothes storage is a locker-type clothes storage in which a large number of clothes storages are juxtaposed in a change room such as a golf course or a sauna bath, any one of the upper surface, the lower surface, and the side surface of the plurality of lockers is provided. May be provided with the one compressor.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a clothes storage according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the clothing storage that can carry out the present invention is a clothing storage with a drying function having two or more clothing storages each having a circulating system of warm air independent of each other, such as a golf course, a sports gym, and a sauna bath. There are lockers that are placed side by side in a change room, a clothes dryer that dries laundry clothes, a closet that dries while storing wet clothes when going out, a closet, a cabinet, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a clothes storage 1 having four vertically long rectangular box-shaped locker-shaped clothes storage chambers 2 (2a to 2d), showing a state in which only the left end storage 2a is opened. . Reference numeral 3 denotes a door, 4 denotes a door handle, and 5 denotes an operation panel of each clothing storage. In the upper part of each clothes storage room 2 (only the storage 2a at the left end is shown in the figure), condensers 6, evaporators 7, fans 8, expansion valves 9 which are components of the refrigeration cycle are provided.
The control valve 10 is provided separately and independently for each room. Further, a suspension bar 12 for suspending the garment 11 is provided thereunder. Reference numeral 13 denotes a circulation direction of warm air for drying clothes, and reference numeral 14 denotes an accessory rack.

The upper surface of the four clothes storage chambers 2 is provided with one compressor 15 and a refrigerant piping system 1 connected thereto.
6 are provided. 17 is a compressor 1 installed on the upper surface
5 cover. The drawing shows a state in which the cover 17 is opened.

In general, since the height of the locker is as high as about 1.8 m, the position of the hanging bar 12 is also high, and when the user is an elderly person, a handicapped person, or a child, the height is very inconvenient. . In such a case, the hanging bar 12 is configured to be operable in the vertical direction, and when hanging the hanger to the hanging bar 12, the hanging bar 12 is lowered and the clothes 11 hung on the hanger are easily placed on the hanging bar 12. It is good to make it removable. The above problem is unlikely to occur if the height of the locker is about 1 meter.

Although the drawing shows a method of drying the clothes 11 by hanging the clothes 11 on a hanger, the method is not limited to the drying method. Further, in the figure, the hanging rod 12 is provided in the width direction (lateral direction) when viewed from the front door 3 side,
The hanging bar 12 may be provided in the depth direction when viewed from the door 3 side. Further, the door 3 may be opened to the left or right. Further, a double-opening type may be used.

When noise or heat radiation during the operation of the drying function becomes a problem, a soundproofing material or a heat insulating material may be attached to a necessary portion of the inner wall of the locker housing. Furthermore, in addition to the drying function of the clothes, the deodorizing function of the clothes (functions such as deodorization and deodorization) and the antibacterial function (functions such as control of extermination and propagation of various germs, etc.)
It may be added to the locker-type clothing storage 1. Deodorization ・
As the antibacterial material, a photocatalyst such as a silver-based or copper-based antibacterial material and titanium oxide may be used.
May be carried on a part of the inner wall of the housing of the storage chamber 2 or an air filter of a hot air circulation system. Further, the deodorant may be activated carbon or the like.

Further, the number of the locker-type clothing storage rooms 2 arranged side by side need not be four as shown in FIG. 1, but may be at least two or four or more.

The operation method of the refrigeration cycle and the like in the locker type clothes storage 1 of the present invention configured as described above will be described.

First, the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle will be described. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant pressurized by the compressor 15 flows through the discharge piping system 16a, and
To the control valve 10 corresponding to the refrigerant inlet. Here, if all the four clothes storage rooms 2a to 2d are in the drying function operation state, the control valves 10 of the respective clothes storage rooms 2 are in the "open" state, and the refrigerant is distributed to the four control valves 10. Then, it flows into the refrigeration cycle components in each clothing storage room 2.

The operating state of each clothing storage room 2 is controlled by turning on and off an operation panel switch provided on each door 3. Here, when the clothing storage rooms 2a and 2b are in the drying function operation state and the clothing storage rooms 2c and 2d are in the drying function stopped state, the control valves 10a and 10 of the clothing storage rooms 2a and 2b are controlled.
b is in the "open" state, the control valves 10c and 10d of the clothes storage rooms 2c and 2d are in the "closed" state, and the refrigerant is distributed only to the two rooms of the clothes storage rooms 2a and 2b.

The refrigerant that has flowed into each of the clothing storage rooms 2 first flows into the condenser 6 as a component of the refrigeration cycle, and heats the hot air 13 that continuously circulates in the clothing storage rooms 2.
The refrigerant liquefied in the condenser 6 then reaches the expansion valve 9, enters a low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase state, and flows into the evaporator 7.
Then, the warm air 13 containing much moisture taken by heating the clothes is cooled and dehumidified. The refrigerant vaporized in the evaporator 7 joins again from each clothing storage room 2, flows through the suction piping system 16 b, and reaches the compressor 15. Thus, the refrigerant circulates continuously in the refrigeration cycle components.

Next, the flow of warm air in each clothing storage room 2 will be described. For example, in the clothing storage room 2a, the hot air 13 heated by the high-temperature refrigerant in the condenser 6 flows toward the lower part of the clothing storage room 2 and the gap of the clothing 11 suspended on a hanger in the storage room 2 and Pass around. At this time, the low-humidity / high-temperature hot air 13 heats the clothing 11 and evaporates moisture from the clothing 11, resulting in a slightly-humidified high-humidity hot air 13.
After circulating through the inside, it rises and reaches the upper evaporator 7.

Here, in order to efficiently heat the clothes 11 and evaporate (dry) the moisture of the clothes 11, it is desirable that the flow rate of the warm air 13 passing through the clothes 11 be high and the temperature be set high. It is desirable that the surface area of the warm air 13 in contact with the clothing 11 is large. In addition, the hanging clothing 11
The warm air 13 is sufficiently distributed to the internal space.
In order to increase the surface area of the garment 11 in contact with the garment, it is desirable that the hanger has a thicker structure if possible.

The hot air 13 that has flowed into the evaporator 7 is cooled and dehumidified by the low-temperature refrigerant to a temperature lower than the dew point of the hot air, and becomes high-humidity / low-temperature hot air 13. And the high humidity
After passing around the fan 8, the low-temperature hot air 13 is heated again by the condenser 6 and becomes low-humidity / high-temperature hot air 13.
As described above, the clothes are continuously circulated in the clothes storage room 2. Here, the fan 8 moves in the flow direction of the hot air 13
And the condenser 6 and the fan 8
It is configured to be able to effectively recover the heat radiation from the heat sink. In addition,
The installation positions of the refrigeration cycle components such as the fan 8 and the expansion valve 9 need not be limited to the above-mentioned positions.

With the above construction, the condenser 6, the evaporator 7, the fan 8, the expansion valve 9 and the control valve 10, which are the components of the refrigeration cycle, are separated into the respective clothing storage rooms 2 and independently. In order to provide the compressor, four sets are required, but at the heart of the refrigeration cycle, only one expensive compressor 15 is required, which leads to cost reduction and downsizing.
It also reduces weight. The clothes storage room 2 during the drying function operation
(The maximum number is 4 and the minimum number is 1 in the figure), there is a concern that the required refrigerant circulation flow rate supplied from the compressor 15 may vary greatly, but this controls the drive power supply of the compressor 15 by inverter. It can respond by doing.

In the inverter control, the frequency and voltage of the power supply can be arbitrarily set. For example, when the number of the clothes storage rooms 2 during the drying function operation is one, the power supply frequency of the compressor 15 is set to a low frequency of 20 to 30 Hz (Hertz), and the number of the clothes storage rooms 2 during the drying function operation is reduced. Is four, the power frequency of the compressor 15 is 80 to 90 Hz.
Should be set to a high frequency. Further, the power supply voltage may be changed at the same time.

In FIG. 1, the compressor 15 is placed on the upper surface of the clothes storage 1, but may be placed on the lower surface. In addition, the refrigeration cycle components provided in each clothing storage room 2 may be provided in the lower portion of the clothing storage room 2.

In FIG. 1, when the amount of heat of the condenser 6 and the amount of heat of the evaporator 7 cannot be well balanced in each of the clothes storage chambers 2, the configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing only the upper surface of the clothes storage 1 of FIG. 1 and shows a state in which the cover 17 is opened.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the amount of heat of condensation in the condenser 6 is large, and a pre-condenser 18 is provided between the compressor 15 and the condenser 6 in the discharge piping system 16a of the compressor 15. Reference numeral 19 denotes a vent of cooling air for the pre-condenser 18. In the drawing, the pre-condenser 18 is a fan-less natural air-cooled heat exchanger, but may be a forced air-cooled heat exchanger having a fan when increasing the amount of heat.

With the above configuration, since the pre-condenser 18 handles a part of the amount of heat condensed by the refrigerant, the amount of heat of the condenser 6 in each of the clothes storage chambers 2 can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a clothes storage 1 having three locker-type clothes storage chambers 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. A compressor 15 is installed on the left side of the clothes storage 1. It is an example. The installation position of the compressor 15 is the clothing storage 1
It may be the right side part or the central part. Although the basic configuration and operation are the same as those in FIG. 1, this method may be used as long as the installation space of the clothes storage 1 has room.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, when drainage dehumidified from clothes is discarded to a drain installed in a nearby room, the drainage can be directly connected by a hose or the like, but if there is no drain outlet nearby, clothes can be stored. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which provides a drainage tank in the storage 1.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
Is provided below the compressor 15. Reference numeral 21 denotes two rails fixed to the lower surface of the clothes storage 1, and the drain tank 20 is slid smoothly on the rails to facilitate attachment and detachment.

FIG. 4 shows the state of the drain tank 20 shown in FIG.
FIG. 22 is the drainage tank 2
A handle 0 and a drain recovery port 23 are provided. The capacity of the drainage tank 20 is 10 to 20 L (liter) in terms of space.
Although about 5 L is possible, about 5 L is desirable from the viewpoint of easy handling.

Furthermore, in order to be barrier-free compatible, it is desirable to configure as shown in FIG. 4 and to set the capacity to about 2 to 3 L. In addition, about 2 to 3 L of drainage tank 20
May be provided in the clothing storage 1. Although a limit switch is provided when the drainage tank 20 is full, the drainage tank 20 may be made of a transparent material in order to make it easy to understand the amount of wastewater collected. Further, the transparent drainage tank 20 may be provided with a scale for knowing the amount of water.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a clothes storage 1 according to another embodiment of the barrier-free drain tank 20. The drainage tank 20 is inclined by an angle A so that it can be easily taken in and out, and the front door 3 is low and the rear surface is high. That is, when the empty drainage tank 20 is inserted, the drainage tank 20 may be pushed up on the rail 21 because it is light. On the other hand, when the drain tank 20 is pulled out when the water is full, the drain tank 20 is pulled down on the rail 21 because it is heavy.

In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described with reference to a slide-alone type locker-type clothing storage, but the clothing storage is a built-in type locker-type clothing storage embedded in a wall of a building or the like. You may. Further, the housing material of the clothing storage may be a metal material such as steel or a nonmetal material, but may be a plastic material or wooden material. Further, the shape of the housing need not be limited to a square box.

[0034]

According to the present invention, in a locker-type clothes storage, clothes in a plurality of clothes storage rooms can be dried simultaneously by one compressor, so that power can be saved and cost is reduced. It is also possible to achieve compactness, compactness and light weight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a locker type clothes storage having a compressor on an upper surface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial explanatory view of a clothes storage having the pre-condenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a locker type clothes storage having a compressor on a side surface of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the rail-type drain tank of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the inclined drainage tank of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Clothes storage room 2. Locker type storage room 3. Door 4.
... handle, 5 ... operation panel, 6 ... condenser, 7 ... evaporator, 8 ...
Fan 9 expansion valve 10 control valve 11 clothing 12
... hanging rod, 13 ... warm air, 14 ... accessory rack, 15 ... compressor,
16 piping system, 17 cover, 18 pre-condenser, 19
... vent, 20 ... drain tank, 21 ... rail, 22 ... tank handle, 23 ... recovery port, 24 ... drainage recovery plate, 25 ...
Drain tank attachment / detachment opening.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A refrigeration cycle comprising a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a blowing means, a control valve, and the like, and a refrigerant is continuously circulated in the refrigeration cycle to heat the refrigerant in the condenser. Drying the clothes with the heated warm air, cooling and dehumidifying the dried hot air with an evaporator, and heating and circulating again with a condenser to provide a clothes storage having a drying function using a refrigeration cycle. The clothing storage having a ventilation-type drying method of drying the clothing by allowing the warm air to pass through a space in the clothing in the clothing storage room constituting the clothing storage and around the clothing. There are a plurality of clothing storage chambers, each of which has an independent circulation system of warm air, and the condenser, the evaporator, the blowing means, and the control valve are separately arranged in each of the storage chambers, and are provided outside the storage chamber. One of the compressors The refrigerant supplied, clothes storage box, characterized in that controlled the so can be dispensed in accordance with the operating condition of the plurality of the storage room. 2. A locker is provided in the clothes storage room, and a plurality of the lockers are juxtaposed so as to share a part of a wall thereof with an adjacent locker. The clothes storage according to claim 1, wherein the one compressor is installed at any one of the side surfaces. 3. The refrigerant circulating flow rate of said one compressor is made variable by an inverter control method according to the operating condition of said plurality of clothes storage rooms. Clothing storage.